A Million More
by shouvley
Summary: Sequel to A Million Reasons. The stories in the caves continue with Wanda and Melanie's children along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1: Melanie

_A/N: Finally I've been able to get some writing done! I know it's been months (7 actually) since I decided to write a sequel but it's finally here. A few quick notes: chapters are going to be fairly short with usually only one POV per chapter, updates will probably be once a week, and I hope to make this my summer project (aka finish it before I move back to school in September)._

_This takes place about 10 months after A Million Reasons. If you haven't read that this might not make much sense. Hope you enjoy it! Remember to review!_

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Melanie POV

I peeked around the corner to see if Crystal was in the kitchen. I crossed my fingers that she was already at school for the day. It wasn't that I didn't like being around her, she just got on my nerves sometimes. When she first got her body back we had bonded quickly. It was nice to have someone to talk to about being a host that wasn't Lacey. But after awhile she started to get on my nerves.

I knew I shouldn't let it get to me but when was she going to mature? She was still acting like a twelve year old and it had been more than a year since she had been given her body back. We knew that no one had any experience with this so it was all just guessing but we'd hoped that she was going to get to the emotional maturity of a 22 year old sooner rather than later.

I felt kind of bad for her. Everyone was so used to Wanda being in that body and being unbelievably kind and generous that Crystal was a stark contrast most people were not expecting. She whined, complained, and threw tantrums when she didn't get her way. We knew that she was just acting like any twelve year old would but it didn't stop people from expecting her to grow up sooner rather than later. Even Maggie was getting annoyed with her and she was usually the one who was willing to overlook just about every shortcoming of anyone who had ever been a host. I couldn't say that I agreed with that philosophy but it kept her from badgering me so I didn't complain.

Crystal was thankfully absent so I strode into the kitchen to get some clean bottles for Max. I picked up a few and filled them with formula and water then headed to the storage room to get some more diapers. We were going through them faster than I thought that we would; both Jodi and Max would need some soon. We would have to go on a raid in the next couple of weeks.

I headed back to Jared's and my room where Freedom was sitting with Max and Jodi. He was seven now and perfectly capable of being in charge for five minutes, something I praised him about considerably. He was finally starting to warm up to me after five years of being leery in my presence.

I was sick of being stuck with baby-sitting duty but Jeb was content to listen to Jared's ridiculous requests for me to be kept from doing anything strenuous. I thought almost four months of maternity leave was fairly ridiculous but he was adamant. I suggested once that Jared watch the kids while I worked in the fields and he almost fell over. If I had known his views on the woman's role in child rearing I may have reconsidered. Or at least discussed it in advance. This was so boring.

Wanda had talked Ian into letting her go back to normal activities after just a month. Of course technically the body she was in now wasn't the one that had given birth, but that was beside the point. Crystal was still angry about the stretch marks she inherited. Apparently that was 'like the worst thing ever'.

I wanted to be turning fields and doing hard manual labor. I could feel my muscles going soft. I hated being out of shape. I needed to start running, though where I was going to run to was the question. I guess I could run laps around the game room. That might not be such a bad idea. I could set Jodi and Max down on a blanket and keep an eye on them while I ran. Or I could wait until tonight and leave Max with Jared.

I was pretty sure that Jared was terrified to be left alone with the kids. He didn't understand that babies under the age of one couldn't do much that he would be unable to handle. Jodi was crawling but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, so all he would have to do would be feed and change them. I wasn't leaving him alone with Freedom and Isaiah. It wasn't like he had to find something to entertain them with. All he had to do was make sure they didn't roll into anything sharp. It wasn't exactly rocket science.

Jamie was more comfortable with the babies than Jared was. Jared liked to claim that he was farther removed from being a baby than Jamie was but I saw through it. I was going to have to do something with him before Max was 7 and had never been alone in a room with his father. And I had just the thing.

I was going to run in the game room tonight and Jared was going to be in charge of getting him to sleep. I smirked as I thought of the heated argument we were going to have later. I liked showing him that while he thought he was in charge of me, I held all the power.

I sighed as I sat next to Freedom and pulled Max into my arms. He was getting so big. I was surprised how much bigger he was than Jodi when she was his age. According to Doc he was going to pass her up within the next year.

I hoped that Max wouldn't bully Jodi around just because he was bigger. They were practically brother and sister so I expected some sibling rivalry. I didn't want them to grow up to be like Kyle and Ian. If those two weren't related I think they would have killed each other by now.

I gave Max his bottle and leaned back against the bed, bored out of my mind. Freedom was playing quietly on the floor with some action figures. I thought they were from X-men but I wasn't sure. I knew that Freedom would have no idea. He just thought they looked cool. Sharon had let him out of school early today. She was doing some more advanced stuff with Isaiah and Crystal and didn't want to bore him. So he was sent to Melanie's Day Care Deluxe. Not that I minded him, or the other two for that matter. I just wished that someone else would take a day.

I leaned my head back and looked up at the ceiling studying the holes. I decided to pass the afternoon memorizing the patterns. It would be the most entertainment I had in weeks.


	2. Chapter 2: Crystal

_A/N: I've decided Sunday is a good day to post updates. So you expect updates on Sundays from now on. This chapter is from Crystal's point of view. If you want more insight into Crystal's back story, my story Everything Changes goes into Crystal's life before she was made a host. It's not too long if you want to give it a chance._

_Thanks for the great reviews for the first chapter! Review again (or for the first time)!_

_Disclaimer: This doesn't belong to me._

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Crystal POV

I really wasn't interested in this. Really. I mean, would I ever need to know about the Civil War? I didn't think so. It wasn't like we had Jeopardy here in the caves, which was the only reason to learn history in the first place; in case you ever went on Jeopardy.

Sharon was going on and on, apparently not caring that I was about to die from boredom.

I'd tried to convince her that I didn't need to be in school but I had been soundly refused. Technically I was 21 years old. My body had finished school years ago and I remembered some of it. I didn't like trying though. It only brought out memories that I would rather keep suppressed. Since I was unwilling to use that knowledge I was less than politely compelled to attend school until Sharon felt my knowledge was up to par. On top of everything, Sharon wasn't a fan of the soul's curriculum, so everything I did learn she considered useless. Apparently she felt they spent too much time on history and not enough time on math and science. And yet now we were doing history. I sighed. Such was my life.

When Sharon finally let Isaiah and me leave (after lecturing me about the importance of paying attention) I was starving. We walked to the kitchen together. I enjoyed his company. He was one of the few people here who immediately separated me from Wanda and though he was so much younger than me I considered him one of my friends. I couldn't really figure out how much younger he was though. Technically I was born 11 years before he was, but I had only lived 3 years longer, if that made sense. My body was 21 but my brain was still only 12. So I split the difference and said I was about 5 years older.

When we entered the kitchen Isaiah went straight to his mother who was behind the counter. I frowned slightly and grabbed some food, sitting by myself. I envied that he had his mother here with him. I missed my mother immensely. Not Cloud Spinner. My actual mother. The one who was still erased and hosting that parasite in Seattle.

When I'd first arrived here I'd been adamant that we go back and find my parents, my friends. Then Wanda introduced me to Sunny, and I knew that we would never be a family again. They wouldn't wake up; it was a miracle that I had. It would be cruel to extract Cloud Spinner and Sky Weaver just to allow their bodies to die. I may not have much kindness for the souls that stole my parents, but I was compassionate enough for that.

My parents were missing so much. Though I guess my life wasn't really much. I did the same thing, day in and day out. The caves were monotony at its highest level. They wouldn't see me graduate or get married because those things didn't exist here.

I felt a pat on my back and saw Ian sitting next to me with his tray of food, picking up our previous conversation where we left off. "You know that 2004 was going to be the Red Sox's year right? I could feel it."

I smiled at him. His friendliness always amazed me. It was like we were friends. He didn't acknowledge the potential awkwardness of our situation. After all, Jodi was technically our child. Our situation had the makings of a bizarre soap opera. Or at least a fantastically entertaining Jerry Springer episode.

Thankfully, he was the best at separating Wanda, the soul, from the body she inhabited. Most of the time I was thankful for that, though sometimes the lingering feelings Wanda left me with yearned for Ian to still feel conflicted too. I would feel better if I knew that he was dealing with unwelcome feelings as well.

"Please," I countered. "There was no way they would've beat the Yankees for the division. Even if they did win the wild card, everyone knows that Wild Card teams never win it all."

"Umm, the Angels in '02? The Marlins in '97?"

I shook my head. "Please don't bring up the Marlins," I said, putting my hand over my heart. "That was painful."

Ian laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot. They beat your team. Tell me why you were an Indians fan again? It doesn't make any sense."

"I grew up in Portland and Seattle was the closest big league city so my dad was a Mariners fan. In '95 the Indians beat the Mariners to go to the World Series. I just feel in love. Charlie Nagy, Eddie Murray, Omar Vizquel. I loved all of them. Then there was Jose Mesa in '97." I shuddered. "I'm still bitter."

Ian was about to tease me some more when Wanda sat down next to him. His focus immediately shifted from me to her and I felt a pang of jealousy.

I was always a little bit bothered that Wanda had used my body for herself, but never more so than when she was with Ian. She had fallen in love with him in my body and now I had to deal with the consequences of it. Every time he would smile at me my heart would skip a beat. Sometimes he would absently lay his hand on my knee. As soon as he realized he would retract his hand and apologize profusely. It didn't help when I was working so hard to constantly remind myself that it wasn't me that he was in love with.

I shot a sharp glance at Wanda, still not completely forgiving her for freeloading off of my body. I knew I wasn't being fair. After all, she had given me my body back. That was more than anyone else could expect. But if life was fair I would have been going to college somewhere, not sitting through junior high history in a dark, dank cave, working off pregnancy weight from a baby that wasn't mine. I had to remind myself that this was better than nothing, which I had experienced before. Awareness was better than being comatose, no matter what the circumstances.

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_A/N: Next chapter is Jamie's POV. If you review you'll get a short preview!_


	3. Chapter 3: Jamie

_A/N: Thanks for the great reviews! This chapter is a little bit shorter but it's Jamie so hopefully that makes up for it. Review for a preview of the next chapter, Wanda's POV.

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Jamie POV

It was days like today that I was extremely happy I didn't have to go to school anymore. When Mel was pregnant with Max I convinced her that 17 more than old enough to stop school. Especially since she hadn't gone to school after she was 14. Jared accused me of taking advantage of her hormonal state, but I had to take an opening when I found one. If she'd had her way I would have been in school until I was 25.

Instead of listening to Sharon drone on for hours on end about nothing I would ever need to remember I got to spend my afternoon playing soccer with Lily, Trudy, and Jared.

I was playing with Lily and Trudy was paired with Jared. We were schooling them pretty handily. I was having a lot of fun taunting Jared. He was getting slow in his old age and I was just hitting my stride. In another year or two I'd be at my peak and Jared would be on the swift downhill slope toward middle age. I was looking forward to that day with great pleasure.

I felt bad about not including Mel but Jared was adamant that she should not be doing anything strenuous. I thought that four months maternity leave was a little ridiculous but I wasn't about to tell him that. That would be a dangerous comment to make. I valued my safety a little too much to mention that.

I passed the ball back to Lily and she shot it right between Jared's legs back to me. I only had to beat Trudy then the goal was mine. She put up a decent fight; she was faster than I gave her credit for. But she wasn't fast enough as I blew by her and put the ball between the lanterns that marked the goal.

We played for about an hour, getting in a good workout. It was nice to be able to move without it being considered 'work'. About halfway through we switched teams and I played with Trudy for awhile. We still won.

I wished that I would be able to taunt him later but mentioning our game in front of Melanie was strictly forbidden. I shook my head again. He was going to have to lighten up eventually or she was going to kill him.

After Trudy and I won the second time, Lily called it.

"Too…tired," she laughed, trying to catch her breath. "I think I'm done."

Trudy nodded with a smile. "Yeah, me too." She handed me the ball and bent down to tie her shoe. "I'm going to go get cleaned up then head to dinner."

"Me too," Lily agreed and they exited the room together.

I walked over to a lantern and picked it up, getting ready to leave.

"What are you doing, kid?" Jared asked me. "You don't want to play a little one-on-one?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. He really was a glutton for punishment. I shrugged and tossed him the ball.

"You can go first," I offered. "You won't have it very long."

I knew it sounded cocky, but really it was the truth. I was faster than Jared, that much was certain, and better coordinated. It annoyed me occasionally when I thought about how my life would have been without the souls. I was pretty sure I would have been running college track somewhere. I'd made Jared time me last year. I ran a four minute mile. There were scholarships for that kind of speed.

Instead I was here, showing Jared firsthand how fast I was. I smirked as he tried to fake left but obviously was going right. I stepped in front of him and cut him off with ease. Then again, maybe being here wasn't so bad.


	4. Chapter 4: Wanda & Ian

_A/N: I have some bad news. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and will not be back until next Tuesday, so next week's update will be 2 days late. As a peace offering I am including an extra POV that will start the plot rolling. Since I'll be gone I won't be able to answer reviews and give previews but you should review out of the goodness of your hearts anyways!_

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Wanda POV

I was absolutely exhausted.

I dropped my tray next to Ian's and plopped down onto the seat next to him. He gave me a soothing smile rubbed his hand on my back. He could already tell that he was going to be in charge of getting Jodi to bed tonight. I knew he didn't mind but I felt bad leaving him to take care of her while I just laid in bed trying to recuperate from the day.

I didn't like thinking ill of my new host but it was hard when she was so tired all the time. She had never had to do any manual labor or serious exercise before I was inserted. Sam, the soul who inhabited her before me, worked in an office, shrugging off the need to keep fit. Even Andrea, the original human, had done her best to keep away from sports and gym class as much as possible.

It had been almost a year that I was in this body and I was still working to get into shape. I was starting to get worried that it was never going to happen. I was still envious of all of the things I could do when I was with Melanie. If there was one thing I regretted about giving her body back it was the uselessness of every other body. I knew that even if I skipped hosts thirty more times I would never find a host I was more comfortable in than Melanie. I had never told her that, but I think she suspected.

As I picked at my food I noticed Crystal shooting daggers at me. I didn't let it phase me. She was still resentful of me and at first I took it personally until Melanie explained the situation. I'd only spent three days with Crystal while she was present. Melanie had spent her first three days with me trying to get me to kill myself. According to Mel, Crystal was making progress.

I took a bite of my roll and looked up at Ian, my eyelids drooping.

"How was your day?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Long."

"Maybe you should take a day off," he suggested. "Stay with Jodi and Max instead."

I nodded as I considered it. That didn't seem like such a bad idea. I'm sure Mel would have appreciated the day off. Or maybe some company if Jared wouldn't let her do anything else.

Ian leaned in close, whispering so Crystal couldn't hear. "Besides, you know how much that housewife thing turns me on."

I giggled and pushed him back playfully. Ever since I got this body Ian had become insatiable. Apparently, as he'd told me once, this body was 'just his type'. Most of the time I didn't mind in the least, but his desire for extracurricular activities may have been part of the reason I was constantly exhausted.

I finished my food and sat while Ian and Crystal continued their baseball debate. I was glad that they found this common ground. I wished that I could have participated but it was way over my head. I barely understood the rules and they were going into complex arguments of players, teams, and base-running strategies. I'd earned a pair of incredulous looks from them when I had tried to jump into the conversation one day, mentioning the Yankees sounded like a good team. After the 2 hour long lecture about how 'Yankee fans are soulless monsters' from Ian and Crystal, I learned my lesson and kept my mouth shut, now sitting quietly, just enjoying the camaraderie between the pair. I was glad that they could be friends.

When the topic shifted to Cubs and Red Sox World Series droughts (which meant absolutely nothing to me; I barely understood why they felt compelled to find out who was the best in the world, let alone keep track of the teams that weren't), I decided it was time to go get Jodi. She was far more entertaining than this conversation.

Ian POV

Wanda left to get Mel and help her bring Jodi and Max in for dinner. I knew that Crystal and I were boring her but it was nice to have someone to talk baseball with that wasn't Kyle. Kyle and I shared the same views on just about everything, except Manny Ramirez. Kyle thought he was the second coming, while I was fairly convinced he was clubhouse cancer. I had a feeling I was right, but now there was no proof so the debate would go on for eternity.

Crystal and I were slightly different. Both still American League fans but definitely different teams. I was impressed by how much she knew for only have twelve years to learn it. I was 20 when the souls came and sometimes she knew more than me. She would have made an excellent ESPN reporter. They were always a sucker for pretty girls who knew what they were talking about.

We had hit an impasse and I decided to change the subject.

"So, Crystal, I hear you have a birthday coming up." I knew she was excited; it was her first birthday since she turned 12 before Pet was inserted.

She smiled at me. "Yep, the big 2-2."

"22?" I asked, confused. "Don't you mean 23?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "No, I mean 22. It's 2013 right?" she clarified. She hadn't really lost track of the years. She just wanted to make sure she hadn't gotten her math wrong.

I nodded slowly. "But Wanda said you were born in 1990."

She shook her head not understanding. "Nope. May 20, 1991."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" I asked skeptically. "Why would Wanda lie about that?"

Crystal looked sheepish; she knew the answer. I raised my eyebrows at her, hoping she would just tell me.

"Wanda was worried that if she told you how young she really was that you wouldn't…" She trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. I could see her getting uncomfortable. I wished I knew a way to comfort her but until I knew what was making her uneasy it would be hard to avoid the subject again. I waited patiently for her to continue.

"She was afraid that you would be too honorable to…" She stopped again, hoping I would catch on.

I thought for a moment. Where was she leading me too? What would I be too honorable to do when she was a year younger? Suddenly it hit me. Wanda had turned me into a pedophile!


	5. Chapter 5: Melanie

_A/N: Thanks for being patient with me since I was on vacation. Disney World really is the happiest place on earth and I definitely wasn't ready to leave yet but such is life. Since I will be available this week we are back to having previews of next chapter when you review this one. Next chapter is Jared's POV and let me tell you, it's fun being in his head._

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Melanie POV

I was going to waste away with boredom. I leaned back against the bed and let my head fall back on the mattress, my arms casually strewn out. I stared up at the ceiling, almost willing it to fall down on top of me to put me out of my misery. I sighed loudly. At least that would provide some excitement.

"What's wrong?" I heard a voice ask. I lifted my head and saw Wanda standing in the doorway. A relieved smile spread across my face.

"Thank god you're here. I was about to die from boredom."

She laughed as she came in and pulled Jodi into her arms. "Well, you'll be a little less bored tomorrow," she promised.

My eyes lit up. "Really? Jared is finally going to stop being ridiculous and actually let me do something?"

Wanda chuckled. "Sorry, not that much less bored." I scowled slightly. "But you'll have some company. Ian and I decided that I should take tomorrow off, so I'll watch Jodi and Max with you."

My scowl didn't dissipate when I heard that. As much as I loved spending time with Wanda, she wasn't much fun to watch the kids with. She always wanted to play developmental games with Jodi and was constantly disappointed that she wasn't interested. I tried telling her that Jodi was just too young to pay attention for that long but she was adamant that she was going to keep trying. So not only was I bored out of my mind, but Jodi was too.

I reached over and shook Freedom's shoulder to wake him. He had fallen asleep about 15 minutes ago and I'd just let him sleep. He rarely napped anymore so I figured one this late wouldn't be too bad. He looked at me sleepily then got to his feet, knowing it was dinnertime.

I reached down and picked Max up, grabbing his diaper bag. We headed out of the room, Freedom running ahead of us, and I was trying to think of a way to pass the time tomorrow when the idea came to me.

"Wanda, you wouldn't mind if we took the kids to the game room tomorrow would you?" I asked her.

She looked at me skeptically. "I guess not," she said. "Why? What do you want to do," she asked suspiciously.

I shook my head. "You'll be happier not knowing. That way you won't have to lie to Jared."

She sighed and shook her head. "You know, a lie of omission is still a lie," she informed me with a smirk.

"Thank you for the lecture. But it's either lie to Jared or kill him. And he's just too good looking to murder," I said with a devious smile.

"Plus then you wouldn't have anyone to help change diapers," she added. I smiled. She had become quite adept at sarcasm in this new host. I appreciated it immensely. It always helped lighten my mood.

We walked into the kitchen and I saw Ian was sitting with Crystal. I was slightly annoyed that I would have to sit with her but I knew that I should give her a chance. She was bound to grow up sooner or later. Ian seemed to have an easy enough time getting along with her. How they managed to keep their relationship from being unbearably awkward I will never know.

Wanda and I sat Jodi and Max in their high chairs at the end of the table. I grabbed a tray and filled up it while Wanda got Jodi some water. As we sat back down Ian looked annoyed.

"Hey, _baby_," Ian said to Wanda, emphasizing 'baby'.

"What?" Wanda asked, confused.

"Nothing," he grumbled, picking at the food on his plate. He stared off into space looking irritated. Wanda and I exchanged looks but neither of us had any idea what was wrong with him.

I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my spoon, dipping it into my soup. We had just harvested the carrots so the soup had more flavor than usual. And by we, I meant not me.

I shook my head. I was annoyed yet again. How sad was it that I my anger threatened to boil over just because I didn't harvest carrots? Maybe if Jared realized how angry I got just eating soup he might be willing to reconsider his opinions. I'd have to let him know.

I felt hands rest on my shoulders and knew that now was my opportunity. Jared leaned in and kissed my cheek and I turned my face to him. He read my expression and his smirk immediately dissipated into a frown.

"What's wrong now?" he asked, irritation setting in.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me. You aren't allowed to be frustrated by my mood when you know how easy it would be to remedy it." I turned back to my soup and ignored him. I knew that I wasn't making much progress with but I planned to make his life half as miserable as he was currently making mine.

He sighed and walked up to the counter and filling his tray. Jamie plopped down next to me with his food looking exhausted.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, pushing the hair out of his eyes. He was burning up. "Are you sick?"

He looked at me sheepishly. "No, I think I just overdid it a little bit today."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you mention anything about working too hard to Jared I will kill you," I threatened. Jared would never give in to me if Jamie couldn't keep up. What had they been doing today that was so strenuous? I thought I remembered Jared saying that they were just going to be raid planning and that was it. Apparently they'd found some other work to do.

Jamie smirked. "Don't worry, Jared worked harder than I did."

I was glad. He should work hard enough for the both of us as long as he insisted I be kept out of commission. As Jamie finished speaking Jared joined us, sitting on my other side next to Max.

He started talking to Max and I smiled. I knew everything that he was doing to me was out of love for Max. He wanted to make sure that Max had a mother around forever. But that plan wouldn't work out so well if my day got any more monotonous. I had the distinct feeling that a few more months of this and I was going to turn into a statue. Jared probably wouldn't notice the difference.

"So what did you do today that got you so tired?" I asked Jamie. "I thought you were just raid planning today."

Jamie nodded as he took a bite of his bread. "We planned in the morning but we were free this afternoon so we pull weeds in the cornfield."

"Really?" Ian asked coming out of his sullen mood. "I was pulling weeds and I didn't see you guys there."

Jared narrowed his eyes at Ian as if telling him to shut up. I was missing something here.

"What's going on?" I asked. "What were you doing?"

"We were pulling weeds. Weren't we, _Ian_?" Jared turned his face to Ian with a pleading expression. He was keeping something from me.

Ian opened mouth to answer but I silenced him.

"Don't lie for him, Ian." I turned to Jamie. "Tell me what you were doing or you're going back to school." I didn't like playing this card but technically Jamie had only gone to school until he was seventeen. He still had another year to go. And I knew he had taken advantage of me when I was pregnant. I was so much more mellow then. I enjoyed making up for it now.

Jamie looked appropriately horrified and he glanced at Jared. "I'm sorry man but that's not a punishment I'm willing to take."

Jared sighed and looked resigned to whatever Jamie was going to tell me. I urged him to continue.

"We were playing soccer in the game room with Lily and Trudy," Jamie said, not meeting my eyes.

My jaw dropped. They did what?!


	6. Chapter 6: Jared

_A/N: Thanks for the great reviews last chapter!!! Next chapter is Wanda's POV so review if you want a preview!_

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Jared POV:

I glared at Jamie as Melanie processed his words. She whirled around and her look was murderous. I knew I would be finding somewhere else to sleep for the night.

I inspected her face again. Maybe a few nights.

"You what?" she questioned incredulously.

I was unbelievably pissed at the kid. He thought that just because Mel had threatened him with school that he would actually have to go if he didn't rat me out? Even I could tell that was an empty threat. Now he had just ruined everything. She wasn't going to forgive me for weeks, maybe even months. It would probably take at least as long as I'd kept her from doing what she wanted to do. She would punish me as she felt I punished her.

I hung my head low. I wasn't sorry for what I did, but I was sorry that she had to find out this way. Or at all. It was never my intention to hold her hostage but that was the way that she felt. I knew I was overprotective but there was no reason for her to go back to hard manual labor when she didn't have to. Our group was still growing and there were more hands to help. There were more mouths to feed too but we seemed to be doing fine with that. We didn't need her help.

It's not that I felt a woman's place was home with the children or something ridiculous like that. I was not the chauvinist pig Mel kept insisting I was to anyone who would listen. I just wanted to make sure that Max would always have someone there for him. If that meant asking Melanie to care for him instead of leaving him with someone else while she went out to work then that was just a sacrifice I'd hoped we would have been able to decide on together.

I sighed then. I knew I had no real excuse for keeping her away from soccer other than my fears of her getting hurt and not being able to care for Max.

I was thinking of how to word my explanation when Ian spoke up.

"I guess it's just the day for exposing lies." He looked pointedly at Wanda.

"What are you talking about?" Wanda asked, taken aback. Thankfully this had pulled Mel's attention away from me slightly as she became interested in Ian and Wanda's marital issues.

"I heard something interesting from Crystal today," Ian informed her. "We were talking about her birthday and she talked about how excited she was to be turning 22."

I saw Wanda's eyebrows furrow as she thought about this. Understanding dawned and she looked up at him nervously. "So then you know…"

Ian nodded. "Yes, Wanda. I know." He looked furious. This was the longest I had seen him ever be annoyed with Wanda. Whatever she had done he was not going to forgive easily.

"Wait, what does Ian know?" Mel interjected pumping Wanda for more information.

Wanda took a deep breath and looked at the floor. "I was first inserted into Crystal I was really only seventeen but I told him I was eighteen so he wouldn't feel morally obligated to wait," she said in a whisper.

Mel leaned back and let out a breath. "Wow. That's bad Wanda." Wanda hung her head nodded. Mel turned to Ian and gave him a sympathetic look before returning back to me with a glare that could have melted ice.

She opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it, closed her mouth and stood up. "I need to get out of here and clear my head. Ian would you like to come with me?"

Ian glanced over at Wanda, decided he was still angry, and nodded. "Yes, I need to remove myself from the situation for awhile."

I rolled my eyes. Melanie was being ridiculous. She glared at me. "Put Max to bed. I'll stay with Lily tonight."

"Come on, Mel. Don't be like that," I whined. I hated being in charge of putting Max to bed. I had feeling that kid was trying to kill me. I swear, every time I changed his diaper it was dirtier than the time before. It's like he saved up until he knew that I would be the one changing him. He was going to be hell as a teenager.

"No, it will do you go to spend some quality time with your son. It's about time you did something fatherly with him." With that she stalked out of the kitchen.

Ian followed close behind. "I just need some time to think about this, Wanda," he said as exited the room.

I sighed. About time? Max was only six months old. Besides, what is quality time with an infant? I held him all the time. Well, the time that he wasn't with Mel. Which wasn't very often. Or ever really. I talked to him and played with him. For a little while. It was kind of boring. I mean I loved Max more than life itself but how many times could I wave some plastic keys in front of his face without getting bored? It would be more fun when he was older and could really play. I guess I probably should make an effort now or he won't want to play with me when he's older. I mean, hell, Max already likes Jamie better than me.

Speaking of Jamie, I looked up at him and gave him the dirtiest look I could manage. It was entirely his fault that Mel was so pissed at me. If the kid could have just kept his mouth shut I wouldn't be in this mess. He was going to get it later. I needed time to plan and make the punishment fit the crime. I'd give it some thought later when I wasn't so livid.

I shook my head and looked over at Wanda.

She was giving Crystal an equally dirty look. Crystal shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Sorry, Wanda," she apologized. "I really wasn't thinking about that. I just told Ian how old I was going to be. I really didn't mean to tell him."

Wanda just kept glaring, not even giving her a response.

"I think I'm going to go…somewhere else," Crystal said, shrinking out of her seat and taking her tray to the pile.

Jamie threw me a glance and jumped up to chase after her. "I think I'll go with you."

That was right. He'd better run.


	7. Chapter 7: Wanda

_A/N: It is officially Sunday and I am waiting for my friends to pick me up so I thought while I waited I would upload the chapter. Hope you enjoy it! _

_Thanks for the great reviews! There are lots of you that have this story on alert that aren't reviewing. Don't you want a preview of the next chapter? It's from Ian's point of view…_

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I glared at Crystal as she exited the kitchen faster than I had ever seen her move. Not that I could blame her in that instance. I was embarrassed by how I was treating her but she had driven a wedge between Ian and I that would not be easily removed. An apology would not be enough. It would take a long time to rebuild the trust that we had lost due to my raging teenage hormones.

Ian seemed so angry when he left. But could I really have expected anything different? I had lied to him. How would he ever forgive me?

Ian hated me. I knew I was being irrational but I'd always harbored deep seeded fears that he would eventually realize that we aren't meant to be together. He deserved someone so much more perfect than me.

Tears began to well as I thought of how I had betrayed his trust. He had thought I would never lie to him. That I wasn't capable of keeping the truth from him. But I had and it had hurt both of us. I destroyed his trust in me. I wished I could take back that lie. Things wouldn't have been too incredibly different would they? No. I was entirely selfish in my lie.

The water in my eyes spilled over as I looked at Jodi. She didn't deserve to have her parents angry at each other. My shoulders started to shake as I began sobbing, thinking about the mess I had made of her life. How would she ever forgive me for what I had done to her?

Jared noticed my sobbing and reached over to put his arm around me.

"Don't cry Wanda," he said soothingly. "Ian will get over it. Trust me, spouses don't stay angry for long."

I sniffled and looked at him with hope. "That's easy for you to say. Mel spends more time angry than not."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's probably true." He let out a loud breath and set a hand on my head. "Oh, Wanda. What are we going to do?"

I shrugged and looked at Jodi. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get Jodi to bed." I knew that Ian needed time and space to cool off. Talking to him right now would do no good other than to agitate him further. He would talk when he was ready and not before. I needed to be strong for Jodi. And I was still exhausted so I knew sleep was in order shortly.

Jared nodded once and glanced around the room looking lost. I gave him a sad smile as I continued, "Do you want to bring Max over and we can put them down together?"

His smile widened as he accepted my offer. He was almost adorably clueless when it came to how to care for his son. But I knew it wouldn't fly for too much longer. It took more than diaper changing skills to raise a child and he was finding out the hard way.

I picked Jodi up and she giggled at me. She had no idea what had happened. As far as she knew Ian and I were just as happy as ever and I hoped that soon we would be able to once again me the family she deserved.

Jared followed suit and pulled Max out of his high chair. I heard a whimper from Max and turned to see Jared holding him like he had as newborn, supporting his head and clutching him tightly to his chest. Max didn't like being so enclosed and started wailing. Jared looked at me then shook his head in confusion.

"That's what he does every time I hold him."

I sighed in exasperation. It was no wonder he didn't understand Max or how to take care of him. He obviously hadn't held him for longer than 5 minutes since he was a newborn. I wasn't sure it was entirely his fault, knowing Melanie was the kind of person to take over a job if the other person wasn't doing it right, but now here was Max, six months old, still being treated like a newborn when he was perfectly capable of supporting himself in Jared's arms.

"He's big enough to be held like this." I pointed to Jodi in my arms. She giggled at me again when she saw my attention was on her and I smiled deeply.

Jared grunted and tried to shift Max without jostling him too much. It was almost comical how careful he was. And Ian thought I was overprotective. Jared looked so nervous holding Max propped up in one arm. I knew Max wasn't likely to wiggle around and fall but I didn't want to take any chances with Jared's nerves also in play.

"Why don't you keep your other hand on his back?" I suggested, hoping to assuage his fears slightly. Jared raised his free hand and pushed in Max's back so that he was firmly against his chest with no chance of movement. While not exactly what I had been hoping for it seemed to calm Jared down and only agitated Max slightly. That seemed to be an acceptable trade off for the current situation.

I kissed Jodi's nose and started back to our room with Jared on my heels.

I took a deep breath before I pushed the red door aside, hoping against hope that Ian would be in there. I was disappointed, as expected, when the room was empty. It appeared that wherever he had gone with Melanie, he had not stopped here first. I frowned slightly as I set Jodi down on the changing table. _First things, first. _I thought, as I started changing Jodi's diaper.

Jared had entered the room behind me and looked around as if trying to find a way to busy himself to keep from changing a diaper. I knew that look too well; Ian used to more often than he should have. I just smirked at Jared and handed him a diaper and the box of wipes.

"You can change him on the bed," I prompted.

He grabbed the diaper out of my hand grudgingly and laid Max on the bed. He changed the diaper slowly, almost as though he were trying to prolong the experience. I just shook my head. It was clear he didn't do this often. Maybe it was good that Mel was forcing him to do this.

When both of the babies had clean diapers and fresh pajamas we laid them at opposite ends of Jodi's crib and watched them fall asleep. They were so sweet together. Practically brother and sister.

When we were sure they were both out Jared and I sat down on the bed. I exhaled slowly and tilted my head back. I was still exhausted and sore from earlier and this quarrel with Ian had tired me out even more. I stifled a yawn but Jared caught on.

"You're tired, I should go," he said standing.

I shook my head. "Please don't leave," I requested. "I don't want to be alone."

He understood and sat back down. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sighed.

"It'll be fine in the morning," I promised. He gave me a skeptical look but I didn't let it phase me. I was determined to believe that all Ian and Melanie needed was a couple of hours to cool off and realize that although Jared and I had lied to them, we still loved them. And once they realized that, it wouldn't take long for things to get back to normal.

He smirked at me as I fought back another yawn.

"Go to sleep, Wanda. I won't leave you," he promised.

I nodded and moved to lay flat on the mattress. I felt the bed sink as Jared stretched out next to me. His hand grabbed mine and we laid said by side.

"Tell me everything is going to be okay, Wanda," he requested.

I sighed. "It's going to be okay," I said with as much conviction as I could muster.

It was barely more than a whisper.


	8. Chapter 8: Ian

_A/N: Woohoo, lots of reviews last chapter. Hopefully you'll all keep up this chapter. *puppy dog eyes* And if you review this chapter you'll get a preview from Jamie's point of view :)_

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Ian POV:

I strode out of the kitchen and followed Melanie out into the main cave. I wasn't sure where she was headed but she kept glancing back every few steps so I knew that I was expected to follow her. She passed the entrances to the bedrooms, the bathroom, and the hospital. I was about to ask where we were going when finally we came to the entrance to the corridor leading to the game room.

She glanced back at me apprehensively as if looking for permission. I merely shrugged my shoulders. I knew full well what she was planning, and just how amazingly pissed Jared would have been if he had been here, but I wasn't going to be the one who mentioned Jared or Wanda first.

I kept my expression neutral as I replied, "Do what you want, consequences be damned."

I hoped my words would give her the inspiration she needed to make her decision and, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, she turned on her heel and moved with renewed purpose.

As I followed after her, I smirked. It seemed like a proper course of action, going the one place Jared seemed committed to keeping her away from.

As we walked I tried my hardest not to think about Wanda or the lie that she had told me. I didn't want to focus on the fact that it had been 5 years ago that she told it. I also didn't want to remember that although she had told me she was 18 I knew she wasn't ready for a physical relationship, making her wait until what I believed was almost her 19th birthday. What harm had really come from her lie?

My step shuffled slightly when I realized without meaning to I was excusing Wanda's lie because it hadn't changed the course of events too severely. I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to remind myself that while I loved her more than life itself there was still the indisputable fact that she had lied to me. For completely selfish reasons. If I was angry at her for anything it was because of that.

We had reached the game room and Melanie stopped, causing me to run into her, lost in thought. I mumbled an apology as she searched around for the lantern that was kept next to the doorway. She found it and turned the pin, igniting the flame inside. It glowed blue as she picked it up and walked to the center of the room.

She set the lantern on the floor and turned to face me. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"I thought you want to play soccer."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I really just want to run. Do you mind?"

I shook my head. I could do with some time to think while running. Plus I knew Mel would give me a good workout. Even if she was out of shape she would still be tough to keep up with. That girl was fast as hell.

She turned and started jogging and I followed suit. After two laps she stopped to stretch and while she leaned over her leg, stretching her hamstring, she looked me straight in the eye and asked the question I didn't know if I could answer.

"Are you going to forgive Wanda?" she asked bluntly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I can't really see a reason to punish her for telling me one lie five years ago. I know she's beating herself up over this and I really don't want her to take it out on herself forever." Mel gave me an apprehensive look and I knew what she was thinking so I cut her off before she could voice her opinion. "I'm not going to forgive her immediately," I promised. "She needs to know that I don't like being lied to. But I don't think I can let a small lie 5 years ago ruin our relationship now."

Mel nodded slowly. I knew I didn't have her completely convinced. She surprised me with her next question. "Do you think I'm a bad mother for wanting to do something other than babysit?"

I saw the sadness in her eyes, thinking that she should never want to be separated from her child, but feeling the pull anyway. I shook my head and tried to calm her fears.

"First of all, you're an amazing mother whether you spend every waking moment with Max or not. I promise when he gets older he will understand that it doesn't matter whether you were sitting with him all day or working in the fields to make sure he has food to eat. He will know that you did it for him and he will love you for it."

She gave me a small smile. "Thanks, Ian. That's what I needed to hear. Now, if only I could get Jared to understand that."

I walked over and put my arm around her. "He'll come around. Don't forget, he's new at this too. Plus, if he's anything like me, the housewife this is a total turn on. I can see why he's not in a hurry to give that up," I laughed.

Mel chuckled. "It's just too bad for him I'm not the apron wearing type."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's only just a little disappointed," I joked.

She smirked and started jogging in place, changing gears. "Are you ready for this, O'Shea?" she taunted.

I put on my best serious face. "Are you ready for this, Stryder?"

She took off running and I did my best to follow but I knew she'd outrun me. This girl was fast. And she didn't slow as the distance increased either. She could run for miles at a sprint. I knew that I couldn't let her lap me though so I did my best to keep up. I wasn't sure how long we ran for but by the time Melanie slowed in front of me I thought I was going to collapse. I hadn't run in quite awhile and I was out of breath to the point where it was painful. I put my hands on my knees and tried to steady my breathing.

I looked up and realized Mel was staring at me with her hands on her hips, barely breathing fast. I narrowed my eyes. How was it fair that she was still in such good shape after being pregnant and not running for almost a full year?

"A little out of breath there?" she taunted.

I gave her the best glare I could muster while still gulping for air. "Shut—up—Mel."

She laughed loudly and came walking over to me. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. "It'll be okay Ian. I'm just faster than you."

She knew it annoyed me when she did this. I hated when she hugged me just to invade my space, especially while I was trying to catch my breath. She was making it harder for me to breathe.

I started pushing her off but she was making too much fun now. She just squeezed her arms tighter as I tried to disentangle myself, telling me not to fight it, that she would just win in the end.

She was laughing when I finally managed to get each of her wrists in my hands and pulled her arms away from me. She gave me a fake pout and murmured something about me being a killjoy.

I laughed and realized that I was finally breathing normally again. Mel realized this and started walking away.

"Ready for round two?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Not trying, just one of the perks," she said with a devious smile.


	9. Chapter 9: Jamie

_A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! Next chapter is Crystal's POV so review for a preview. For now, enjoy Jamie's POV.

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The way Jared was glaring at me I thought I was going to catch on fire. It wasn't like I meant to tell Mel what we had been doing, I just wasn't used to lying to her. Where did he get off telling me to lie to my sister anyway? How was it any of his business what I did and did not tell her? If he didn't want her to know that we had played soccer without her all he had to do was not play soccer without her. It wasn't that difficult of a concept to grasp.

Not that I was going to mention a word of this to him. In his current state I knew it was best to keep from making eye contact. It was smartest to keep my eyes down and back away slowly. And I did exactly that. When Crystal said she was leaving to get away from Wanda I knew I had to strike while the iron was hot and make sure that I was not left alone with Jared. That would not bode well for my future.

"Where are we going?" I questioned Crystal as we walked out of the kitchen.

She turned on me with an annoyed expression. "_We_ aren't going anywhere," she emphasized. "_I_ am going to hide until Wanda leaves the kitchen and avoid her for the foreseeable future."

"That's kind of cowardly," I thought out loud.

She glared at me and picked up the pace. "Well, we can't all be like you Jamie."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed in exasperation. "We're not all so self-righteous that we have to own up to a lie the minute we tell it. I wish I had kept my lie to myself forever."

Now I was glaring at her. How dare she call me self-righteous? "So you'd rather be a liar?" I scoffed.

"If it keeps the peace, yes."

I didn't even know how to respond. I wasn't sure if it had to do with my childhood with Melanie and not having room or occasion for secrets or if it was just the way I was raised to be truthful, all I knew was that keeping the peace was not an acceptable reason to keep things from people.

"You're ridiculous," I informed her and split off from her, walking toward the game room.

She muttered something that I was sure was a rude comeback and continued toward her room. I was grateful she hadn't followed me. I wanted to be alone now. I was unlikely to see anyone coming down this way and that suited me just fine.

I didn't disagree with Crystal about avoiding people. I was perfectly willing to avoid Jared for the next month or so. That didn't mean I was sorry for telling Mel the truth. Jared should be sorry that I'd had to tell her in the first place.

Even now I had trouble believing that he'd been so secretive with her. It wasn't like he had deliberately tried to be hurtful but he knew Mel's feelings on the subject and did something that she wanted to do without just because he wanted to. He didn't think about how she would feel about it. He didn't do that very often lately. I knew I didn't have a lot of experience in this realm but I knew that thinking about your spouse's feelings was a major part of the relationship.

As I approached the game room I noticed that there was already a lantern glowing. I was certain that Jared and I had extinguished the last one when we had left but maybe someone had come to use it after we finished.

I knew that sometimes people snuck here to be _alone_, if you know what I mean. There wasn't a lot of opportunity for that when everyone was sharing bedrooms in the same corridor without doors, so the others took advantage of privacy whenever and wherever they could find it. Not that I'd ever had the occasion, or would ever have the occasion. But that was beside the point.

My suspicions were confirmed as I moved closer and heard giggling emanating from the room followed by grunting. I turned on my heel quickly. I did not want to see or hear anything that was going on in there. I wasn't curious about who it was, I just wanted to get out of there.

I started moving back down the hall when I heard one of the voices speak.

"Ready for round two?" Mel asked.

I heard more grunting before I heard Ian reply, "Are you trying to kill me?"

That was all I needed to hear before I tore away from the game room as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn't bother to look where I was going, but it didn't matter anyway. I wouldn't have been able to see through the tears that obstructed my vision.

How could Mel do that to Jared? I know he wasn't completely innocent, but did he really deserve her cheating on him? And what did Ian think he was doing? This was going to destroy Wanda.

I considered running straight to tell Wanda and Jared what had happened but I stopped myself. It was me opening my big mouth that got everyone into this mess in the first place. If I could have just kept quiet there wouldn't have been any reason for Mel to cheat on Jared with Ian.

I now understood Crystal reasons for wishing she'd kept her mouth shut because at that exact moment, when I realized I'd ripped my family apart, I was wishing the exact same thing.


	10. Chapter 10: Crystal

_A/N: Thanks so much for the great reviews last chapter. Here's Crystal's POV. I'll be out of town next weekend so next chapter (from Melanie's POV) won't be up until late Sunday. Review for a preview to tide yourself over for those few extra hours._

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Jamie was getting on my nerves.

He was just so…friendly. He was always following after me, asking me about my day, making pleasant conversation. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why he couldn't just spend most of his time mildly depressed like the rest of us.

Jeb kept saying that Jamie's positive attitude was contagious but I wasn't so sure about that. I didn't feel happier when he was around. He just annoyed the hell out of me.

I shook my head to clear away the annoyance as Jamie walked away. He was heading in the direction of the game room and I glanced around, trying to find a proper hiding place for when Wanda exited the kitchen. I spun around, contemplating various places when I heard voices coming down the hall from the kitchen that I immediately recognized as Jared and Wanda's. I needed to hide quickly.

I turned my back to the wall and muttered helplessly as I decided if I had enough time to run to my room. The voices were getting closer and I knew I wouldn't make it across the room before they exited the hallway. I took a chance and sprinted forward to the field of corn growing in the middle of the room. It was just about waist high and growing very thick. I knew it wouldn't keep me hidden from view for long but as long as they weren't looking for me I would be undetected.

I plopped myself into the dirt and waited while Wanda and Jared walked by carrying Jodi and Max. Jared looked decidedly uncomfortable as he walked with Max. Wanda was leading the way, striding purposefully toward her room while Jared was walking gingerly trying to keep Max from bouncing when he walked.

I watched with amusement until they rounded the corner on their way to their rooms. I sat in the middle of the field for a few more minutes to be sure they hadn't forgotten anything then I rose to my feet and wiped the dirt from my pants. I was just getting to the edge of the field when Jamie came rushing by, looking upset. He caught my eye and turned his head to the ground, attempting to hide his swollen eyes but not succeeding.

"What's wrong?" I asked, rushing over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing," he said, his throat thick, keeping his gaze distant.

"It's not nothing. What happened?"

He just shook his head and tried to push past me but I kept my hold on his shoulders and tried to catch his eye.

"Tell me," I implored.

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to be nonchalant. "I just had a little surprise, that's all."

I exhaled in annoyance. "Fine, if you don't want to tell me then don't." I started walking away. I had taken about four steps when he spoke again.

"Melanie and Ian are hooking-up in the game room."

I spun around quickly, prepared to tell him that his joke wasn't even remotely funny when I saw the look on his face. He was serious.

"Oh, Jamie," I said walking over to him. I put my arms around him and hugged as tightly as I could. "Are you sure?"

He nodded mutely and rested his head on my shoulder.

"You were right," he whispered. "It's better not to say anything. I shouldn't have gotten involved."

I gave his a rueful smile. "As much as I usually love hearing that, today that's not the case."

We stood there for a full minute without speaking, silent tears streaking down both of our cheeks before we heard voices leaving the kitchen.

Jamie's head shot up and he looked worried. He tensed to run but I shook my head and pulled him into the field, where I had just hidden from Wanda and Jared. It seemed like a world away. Both were still blissfully unaware of what had happened. They just thought that their spouses were angry with them. I don't think either even considered the possibility of infidelity.

We sat side-by-side in the middle of the field, holding hands, with his head on my shoulder and my head leaned on his. We stayed silent, letting our tears dry up, watching as everyone exited the kitchen. The sun had long since faded and the moon had risen to light the room. I knew we should move somewhere else but we had nowhere to go.

It was understood that neither of us wanted to be near anyone. We were homewreckers. We didn't deserve to be near the others in case we poisoned someone else's relationship.

We had been responsible for the ruin of two marriages. Each of us had destroyed a happy family. There wasn't enough time left on earth to make up for ruining a child's chance at growing up in a happy home.

I had lost track of how long we had been sitting there when there was a loud laugh echoing down the hall from the direction of the game room. Jamie's hand tightened around mine and his head shot up.

Melanie and Ian entered the room and walked toward their rooms. When they passed by we heard part of their conversation.

"Are we really sure we want to tell them already?" Melanie asked.

"We can't draw it out. It's just mean," Ian replied as they moved out of sight.

I couldn't believe they were being so casual about this. Jamie looked at me again with new tears welling. I couldn't stay to see him beating himself up about this anymore. It was obvious they felt no remorse for the situation, so Jamie and I had no business feeling guilty for our part in it.

I stood and turned to face him.

"Where are you going?" he asked me.

I held my hand out to help him up.

"We're getting out of here."


	11. Chapter 11: Melanie

**A/N:** Yay, I'm back! I want to give you my deepest apologies for abandoning this story for 3 months. Unfortunately after I uploaded the last chapter my computer crashed and I lost _everything_ and I had a hard time finding the motivation to write it again after I'd already written it once. Then I started reading some _really _good fics. Good enough to make me feel completely inadequate. Finally, I found some self-esteem and the motivation to write so here it is. 3 months late. Sorry again.

Here's a recap of what has been happening:  
_Jamie and Crystal were both caught in the middle of our favorite couples' fights. Jamie ratted Jared out for playing soccer without Mel, and Crystal spilled to Ian that Wanda lied about her age. Ian and Mel stormed off and are hanging out in the game room. Jamie and Crystal were hiding in when they heard Ian and Mel walk by. Their conversation sounded like they were having an affair and Jamie was crushed. Crystal suggested they get away from the situation._

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Mel POV:

We ran until we couldn't anymore. It was oddly therapeutic for me to feel so out of breath. It was how I had spent so much of my young life that I felt more like myself than I had in a long time.

Ian started fading before I did but I knew it was time to quit before I overexerted myself. As it was, I was already fairly certain tomorrow I'd be too sore to move.

We took a final walking lap around the room before we both collapsed into a heap on the floor. Our heads were side by side and our feet were sprawled out in opposite directions. We laid silently for a few minutes to catch our breaths and contemplate our situations.

I thought about Jared and why I was really angry with him. It wasn't that he had played soccer without me; that had just been the straw that broke the camel's back. If I really thought about it, I was angry because he was treating me differently. I wasn't the 'rough and tumble' Mel I had been when we had first met. He now treated me as though I were breakable, which I most definitely was not. I sighed knowing why he felt this way. It was how Ian treated Wanda and Jared decided it was how all new mothers should be treated. I didn't think it would take much to convince him otherwise if I explained it that way.

I sighed loudly and stared up at the ceiling

Ian turned to look at me and cocked his head to the side. He was on to me.

I never quite understood how he did it but he seemed to always know what I was thinking. It was probably left over from when Wanda and I shared my body and my expressions were her expressions. No matter what the reason, Ian could read me like an open book.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked.

I nodded.

I glanced at him to find him with the same thoughtful expression I was sure I had on my face and I knew what that meant for both of us.

"You're going to forgive her," I stated.

He nodded. "I love her. It was a long time ago. It didn't do anything except speed the process a little bit."

I stared intently at him. I admired his insight. He knew Wanda better than I did sometimes. He knew that what she did hadn't been hurtful to him. In fact she'd only lied because she loved him, not in spite of it, as Jared had.

And just like that I was back from the verge of forgiving Jared and back to square one. He lied to me when he knew how hurt I would be to know the truth. He didn't ask Jamie to lie because he couldn't bear the thought of me playing soccer; he kept a secret because he couldn't bear the thought of me being anything but a stay at home mom. Stupid arrogant prick.

I noticed Ian giving me a strange stare and realize my most recent rant had been out loud.

"Easy Mel," he cautioned. "No need to castrate him so quickly. Will you at least give him a chance to explain himself?"

I rolled my eyes but stood and started wiping the dirt off of my shorts. "It's going to take a hell of a lot of explaining."

Ian stood and looked at me cautiously. "But you are going to let him explain, right? I'm not saying what he did was right, but I also know how much you love each other. You're not going to hang this over his head forever are you?"

"Not forever," I pouted.

Ian laughed and grabbed my hand. "Let's go back and see what they have to say for themselves," he suggested.

I smiled and wrapped my fingers around his. We started walking, swinging our hands between us as we made our way back. I leaned my shoulder into him and knocked him off his path. He looked at me with a mischievous grin and started swinging toward me to retaliate. I braced myself for impact and leaned toward him but he never made contact, which left me falling forward. Ian caught me before I fell and righted me, all the while laughing hysterically. His laughter was booming down the hall as we neared the main cave.

"This was a lot of fun Ian," I told him. "We don't hang out enough."

He nodded in agreement. "I'm just sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

We entered the main cave and were now getting perilously close to our rooms and our respective spouses. I wasn't quite sure I was ready for that yet.

"Are we really sure we want to tell them already?" I asked.

"We can't draw it out. It's just mean," Ian said sternly as we rounded the last corner.

I sighed knowing he was right. We reached his room and I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as he pushed the door aside and walked in. He slid the door closed behind him and I knew it was my turn now. I needed to force myself to walk down the hall and be an adult. Jared and I had something to work through and adults found solutions to their problems rather than just fuming about them and keeping their feelings bottled up inside.

I took a deep calming breath and strode purposefully to Jared's and my room. I stepped around the curtain, ready to wake Jared and talk things through, but I was startled to find the room empty. I looked from side to side, as though expecting to see Jared and Max materialize from thin air.

As I pondered where they were, a million horrible thoughts instantly raced through my mind in a split second. Was something wrong? Had something happened? Ian and I hadn't seen anyone coming back from the game room. Had the caves been evacuated and no one came to find us? Were there Seekers around? I said a silent prayer that Jared and Max were okay, but I knew better than to freak out and jump to the worst case scenario. Max was probably restless so Jared was walking him around. Jared wasn't sure what to do when Max was antsy, so he was probably freaking out a little bit. I fought back the urge to smile as a '_serves him right_'.

As I turned around to go look for them, Jared appeared in the doorway holding a sleeping Max in his arms. He looked exhausted.

"Hi," he said, eyeing me warily.

"Hi," I breathed. "Can we talk?"

He gave me a relieved smile and nodded. "Of course."

He stepped forward and set Max in his crib. I stood next to him and reached a hand out to smooth Max's hair. He had a full head of hair already and I had been trimming it since he was a month old. I looked down on him and felt my heart swell with love. I had to work things through with Jared, if for no other reason than to give Max the most loving home we could possibly provide.

I stepped back and grabbed Jared's hand, pulling him to sit next to me on the bed. I held his hand but didn't allow our knees to touch. This would be hard enough with lust clouding my vision.

I cleared my throat and looked at him. He stared back at me but I knew he was waiting for me to say something. I closed my eyes and calmed myself as I asked the question I wanted answered most.

"I want to know why. Why wasn't I allowed to play soccer with you today? And I don't want to hear that you didn't think to tell me. Or that I would be too busy. I want you to be honest with me."

"That's fair," he allowed. "You deserve that."

I snorted. "I deserve a hell of a lot more than that. This is just the beginning."

He suddenly looked apprehensive as he realized the long night he had ahead of him.

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**A/N:** The next chapter is Wanda's POV. Unfortunately I won't be sending out previews in response to reviews but I hope you'll review anyway. (And hopefully it will be up within the next few days!)


	12. Chapter 12: Wanda

**A/N: **Thank you guys so much for not giving up on this story! I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are still reading! Hopefully updates will be coming more quickly from now on. I should be able to get a chapter out every few days.

Thanks again, you guys rock!

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Wanda POV:

At first light, I woke to arms wrapped around me that I hoped weren't Jared's. That would have been difficult to explain. I shifted and breathed a large sigh of relief when I realized that it was Ian's torso pressed up against my back. I settled contentedly into his hold, content to never move again. I knew we had our issues to work through, but the fact that he was here now spoke volumes of our situation.

Jodi was still sleeping soundly and Max was gone out of the crib. Ian must have come back in the night and sent Jared back to Mel. Or at least out of here. I wasn't sure if Mel would be ready to take him back just yet but still, he wasn't here. I hoped they were working things out. I knew Mel could hold a grudge like no other, so the road ahead for Jared was sure to be bumpy, but they could get through this if they were both willing to work for it.

Ian shifted behind me and I knew he was on the edge of sleep. I only had a few moments before he awoke and my stomach started churning. When I felt Ian's lips on my hair I calmed slightly, though I was still nervous. But I knew the nerves wouldn't fade until I'd apologized to Ian. I rolled over and met him face to face.

He smiled warmly and brushed the hair back from my face. I knew I looked worried and he gave me his best reassuring look, waiting as I searched for words. Finally I settled on the obvious.

"I'm so sorry. I never should have lied. It was a horrible thing to do and I completely understand why you were so angry."

He shushed me and shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. I understand why you did what you did, and though I can't say that I think it was right, it was 5 years ago. I firmly believe it wouldn't have changed things one bit. It may have moved things along more quickly but in the long run what difference does a year make? I'll love you forever no matter how young or old." He leaned in the kiss away the tears that had spilled over and I let out a shaky breath.

"I love you so much," I whispered as he brought his lips to mine.

Just as Ian brought his weight over mine, Jodi let out a small cough and started whining. If I didn't get to her soon she was going to start bawling loudly and I wasn't quite awake enough for that. Ian heard her too and groaned as he rolled to his back. I started up, but he put a hand on my forearm as he got up.

He walked to Jodi's crib and smiled down at her. She giggled as he made faces at her and squealed when he picked her up and spun her around above his head.

I laughed along with them, reveling in our light hearted morning. I patted the bed next to me and Ian sad down, placing Jodi between us. She looked up at both of us not knowing who to beg for attention first. I started running my fingers through her growing hair and Ian was tickling her.

She fell back on the bed in hysterical laughter and starting kicking her legs out in all directions. One of her feet caught Ian on the chin and he turned away for a moment to swear quietly. I gave him a reproachful look. He was going to have to get rid of that habit before Jodi started repeating him.

He rubbed his jaw and looked over at me. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I shook my head with a smile. I wasn't going to let it bother me; she wasn't talking yet.

We made eye contact and just like that, I knew everything was going to be alright. It was hard to explain the feeling I got whenever Ian looked at me like that, but I always felt loved and safe and I knew that nothing, no matter how horrible I thought it was (and I did tend to be overly dramatic sometimes), Ian would always love me.

Jodi was lying on her back, looking back and forth between Ian and I, trying to make sense of the conversation we were having with just our eyes. I wished that one day she could have love like this in her life. She would be extremely lucky to find a husband half as loving as mine.

Ian leaned down next to Jodi and rested his weight on his elbow, staring down at her. I loved when he looked at her like that. He'd told me before that he liked to stare at her and try to figure out how he had gotten so lucky to have her in his life. I wondered the same thing all the time.

Finally, after lounging in bed longer than we should have, we got up to head for breakfast. I hoped that Mel and Jared had made up during the night as well and Ian assured that making up had been Mel's intention last night. I, however, knew Mel and her affinity for split second decisions that would change her outlook on her making up with Jared. I hoped that she listened to Ian though. Things were much happier when we were all getting along.

We walked down to the kitchen hand in hand with Ian holding Jodi. He bounced her on his hip and she laughed the whole way down the hall, screeching with excitement. When we got to the end of the hall and into the kitchen, Melanie rushed up to us looking haggard. She looked as though she hadn't slept at all.

She had been sitting at a table with Jared and Jeb who looked equally concerned, though maybe not as frantic.

"Tell me you guys have seen Jamie," she begged.

I shook my head. "Not since last night."

"Have you seen Crystal either?" she questioned.

"No," I replied. "What happened?"

She let out a shaky breath and leaned on the nearest table for support.

"No one has seen them since last night. They didn't go to bed and the keys for the Jeep are missing." She looked at Jared who was standing stoically in the corner. "We think….we think they ran away."

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**A/N:** Next chapter is Crystal's POV so we get to hear about what she and Jamie are up to! Review if you want!


	13. Chapter 13: Crystal

A/N: Thanks once again for the great reviews! Finally we get to find out where Jamie and Crystal went. Enjoy :)

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Crystal POV:

It had taken nothing short of a crow bar to get Jamie out of the caves. But he needed to leave. He needed to be somewhere else, away from his guilt, away from the influence of Melanie, Jared, and Wanda. Of course he was worried about safety and getting caught, which was reasonable, but he was also worried what Melanie was going to do when she found out. That was the point of this exercise, to get away from Melanie's control over him.

We had stopped just before exiting the caves as he tried one last time to talk me out of leaving. I knew that even if he was completely opposed to leaving, he wouldn't let me go by myself so I played that card. I grabbed the keys to the Jeep that was parked nearby and as we walked up the incline into the crisp night air, I turned to Jamie.

"Do you know how to drive?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Never had the chance."

"Have you ever left the caves?" I wondered aloud.

He gave me an indignant look. "Yes, I've left the caves. I go on raids every now and then when they need an extra set of hands."

I nodded. "And in all that time you've never had the chance to drive? Not once?"

He shrugged. "Well I guess I've had a chance but no one ever wanted to take the risk of getting stopped by a soul for bad driving." Nope, not good enough.

"Well you better prepare yourself, because you're driving." I tossed him the keys and he was so startled he almost didn't catch them. He stopped dead and held the keys in his hand, staring at them like they were going to attack him. I kept walking, waiting for him to come to his senses and catch up.

Then he began chasing after me and the excuses started.

"But, but…" he stuttered as he tried to form a coherent thought. It was almost endearing to see him so at a loss for words.

I spun around to face him and he almost crashed into me. As it was, I had to take a step back to make eye contact.

"Listen, that's what we're going to do. We're going to go for a drive. We won't get stopped, I promise. I have more experience with souls than anyone else here and I can promise you that I have no doubt in my mind that as long as you take your time and don't get caught speeding the souls could care less if you don't drive in a perfectly straight line. Most of them learned how to drive when they were inserted anyway."

He was still stunned but nodded quietly. He had to give himself time to come to terms with this. He was finally going to learn to do something he had every reason to believe he would never be given the opportunity to do.

I gave him a quick smirk and turned to start walking again. We reached the Jeep and I walked over to the passenger side, climbing in as Jamie cautiously sat in the driver's seat without pulling his door shut. He sat silently, taking in his surroundings.

I reached across him and pulled the keys out of his left hand and shoved them into the ignition.

"Close the door, turn the key, and let's go," I instructed as I clicked my seatbelt.

He did the same and followed the instructions. He put his foot on the brake and shifted the Jeep into reverse. He pulled out painfully slowly and stopped to attach the tarp that would cover the tire tracks. Not that it was a necessity anymore, there hadn't been any soul activity in this part of the desert in years. We hadn't given them any reason to be suspicious, so we were pretty sure they'd forgotten about us by now. Not that I wanted to take chances. I wouldn't be a host again, they'd never get me alive.

Jamie made his way back to the driver's seat slowly. He sat with his hands on the wheel breathing deeply, as if trying to convince himself to put the car it in drive.

I set my left hand on top of his right and he looked at me. I held eye contact as I reassured him.

"You can do this. It's not difficult."

He seemed to take my word for it and shook my hand off so he could reach the gear shift. He pulled it down to drive and gingerly set his foot on the gas. We were going less than 20 miles per hour but I wasn't going to complain. He was driving, for the first time ever.

I was going to do whatever I could to let him savor this moment. After all, I felt marginally responsible for our current situation. If I hadn't said anything to Ian he wouldn't have stormed out after Melanie and they wouldn't have cheated. Jamie and I were both equally guilty of breaking up two marriages and I fought the urge to cry as Jamie became more comfortable behind the wheel. He had sped up to about 30 now and that was about the fastest we could go on this unpaved path. We arrived at the main road and Jamie stopped the car dead and turned to face me.

"Are you sure we want to go out on the road? We could just drive back. I feel much more comfortable behind the wheel. I think we accomplished our goal." He was really starting to freak out, but he wasn't ready to go back yet.

"Nope," I denied him. "We're not quite done yet. You haven't practiced parallel parking yet," I said with a devious smile.

He rolled his eyes but didn't argue. After removing the tarp he shifted into gear again and pulled slowly out onto the road. He kept the speed low and his eyes trained on the road immediately ahead of him. I smirked as he made all the classic rookie mistakes. Sometimes I had remind myself that living in the caves didn't afford him the same opportunities I'd had even living with a host. I'd learned -- or rather Pet had – learned to drive as soon as I'd turned 16. Although she hadn't been around long after that the muscle memory was still there and I knew that I could get behind the wheel of any car and drive it (provided it was automatic).

Jamie slowed down even more as we headed toward the lights of a nearby town. As we started driving under the streetlights, I saw how tense Jamie was by his grip on the wheel. His knuckles were pure white. I knew I was pushing him, being so close to souls but I'd spent enough time living as one to understand that as long as we didn't do anything suspicious they had no reason to question us.

I pointed to a side street and Jamie turned the wheel mechanically, jerking slightly more than necessary. I directed him to pull up next to a car on the road so he could attempt parallel parking.

I explained the proper way to cut the wheel and it only took him two tries to get the car in the space. Just as I was congratulating him Jamie gave a panicked glance to the rear view mirror. I turned quickly in my seat and saw the flashing lights of a Seeker's car.

It was coming to a stop directly behind us.

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A/N: Sorry for the cliffie but it was just too tempting ;) Next chapter is Jared, then after that will be Jamie to let us know what happened. Thanks again for reading. Review if you would please.


	14. Chapter 14: Jared

A/N: Thanks once again for your amazing reviews! Enjoy reading the search for Jamie!

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Jared POV:

I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes to orient myself. I had no idea where the hell I was. Finally I realized I was lying next to Wanda and it was Ian shaking me awake. I hoped he realized that lying next to Wanda was completely platonic. I wasn't in the mood or another disagreement of any kind, no matter how ridiculous.

"Mel's waiting for you in your room," he told me as he helped me to my feet.

"Thanks," I replied, picking Max up gingerly, hoping he would not awaken.

I knew I was in for it as I carried Max back to our room. Mel would be in there waiting for me and she was either going to yell at me, or we were going to have to 'talk'. Right now neither of those appealed to me in the least, but I knew that we needed to get these issues behind us if we were ever going to be able to get over them.

When Mel heard me approach she spun around and looked relieved. She hadn't known where Max and I were. But once the relief faded, the look of annoyance she had been sporting recently came back.

"Hi," I tested.

She calmed slightly as she replied, "Hi, can we talk?"

I smiled. At least she wasn't going to yell. I agreed eagerly and moved to put Max in his crib. Mel brushed his hair back and looked down on him lovingly. I gave her a moment with her son before she turned around and pulled me to sit on the bed next to her.

I waited for her to speak, knowing that one wrong word from me could send her back to the edge of hatred again. She closed her eyes as if summoning the courage to say something. If she needed courage then it must be something really difficult she wanted to talk about.

"I want to know why. Why wasn't I allowed to play soccer with you today? And I don't want to hear that you didn't think to tell me. Or that I would be too busy. I want you to be honest with me."

I sighed. I knew this wouldn't be easy. I would just have to do my best to explain to Mel why I did what I did without sounding like an ass. I knew the chances of that were slim.

"That's fair," I allowed. "You deserve that."

She gave a snort laugh. "I deserve a hell of a lot more than that. This is just the beginning."

I resisted rolling my eyes. It was going to be a long night.

"Okay, where do you want to start?" I asked.

She looked at me, appraising my attitude before she replied. "Let's start at the beginning. Why do you think that I shouldn't be allowed to do anything? What are you afraid of?"

I closed my eyes, knowing that this would be the hardest question to answer. I didn't want to answer this question in the least. Once she knew what I was thinking, she was going to get angry. And my goal in having this conversation was to keep her from getting angry. Keeping her calm would work out better for everyone in the long run. Finally I just bit the bullet and answered her honestly.

"I'm afraid of losing you," I replied. She took in a breath to start arguing, but I put a hand up to stop her. If I was going to tell her this, I needed to be able to get everything out before she interrupted.

"Every time you leave this room I'm terrified that something's going to happen to you. It's always been that way, but since Max was born it's gotten worse. I'm terrified that you'll be hurt and not only will I be without my wife, but Max will be without a mother. And it's not just that I'm afraid of being alone with him, which I will admit sometimes I am, it's that I can't imagine growing up without a mother and I would never want that for my son. So I know I was being overzealous but I promise it was entire out of love for you and Max."

When I finished I had trouble meeting her eyes, wondering what emotion would be awaiting me there but at the same time terrified that my confession had made things worse rather than better.

She put a hand under my chin and pulled my face up to meet hers. "I understand you're afraid but I think you're sending Max the wrong message. Do you want him to think that women have no other purpose than to take care of children?" she questioned.

I shook my head vehemently. Of course I didn't want that. I wanted Max to grow up with a strong female role model, showing him that women are just as important as men, if not more so. I want him to treat women with the utmost respect. How could I expect him to do that if I couldn't do it myself? I couldn't even form words to respond. There was no excuse.

"I know that we need to find a common ground here," Mel said quietly. "But that's what being a family is all about. Compromise."

I nodded and waited for her to continue. Instead she yawned.

"You're tired, and we've made some good progress," I said. "Why don't we get some sleep and continue this tomorrow."

She nodded and was about to stretch out but she instead turned to me with a stern look on her face.

"I want you to apologize to Jamie."

"I know. I will, I promise," I replied earnestly. I hadn't treated Jamie well and I knew that he deserved to take some shots at me too. I would give him that opportunity for sure.

"Can you do it now?" she asked. "I'll be able to sleep better if I know the two of you have put this behind you."

This could wait until morning, but I wasn't going to tell Mel that. Jamie was going to be annoyed that I was waking him up but that was nothing compared to the can of worms I would open with Mel if I refused.

I nodded and stood, heading out of the room to get things over with.

I walked down to the room Jamie shared with Aaron and Brandt and pushed aside the curtain to let myself in. Aaron and Brandt were both out, snoring loudly, but Jamie's bed was empty. As I walked back to our room I wondered where he could be. Probably the bathroom, I decided as I pushed back the screen to find Mel stretch out on the bed. She heard me enter and looked up at me with confusion.

"That was fast."

I shrugged my shoulders. "He wasn't there."

Her eyebrows knitted as she thought. "Where is he?"

"Probably the bathroom," I said tiredly as I moved to lay down next to her, but she wasn't having that.

"When I asked you to apologize tonight I meant it," she said sternly. "Do you want me to help you look?"

I shook my head, defeated. It was going to take forever to find him, but if it got me back in Mel's good graces, I would do it. I left the room again and started looking in the bathroom. When I came up empty I moved on to the kitchen, other bedrooms, and the hospital. There was no trace of him anywhere. I noticed Crystal's bed was also empty. As I kept looking something wasn't sitting right with me. Where could Jamie be?

I was starting to get annoyed with him. It wasn't his fault though. I'd told him to go away and now he was doing exactly what I had told him. At least he listened to me for once. After more than an hour of looking, I was starting to get concerned. Where else could he be? Unless he was actually hiding from me there was nowhere else he could possibly be. That was when I saw it. Footprints leading out of the caves. And there was a set of keys to the Jeep missing. It didn't take me long to put it together, but I prayed I was wrong.

I hurried back to tell Mel. Maybe she knew of a place he would hide that I didn't. I hoped that was the case. If I was the cause of Jamie and Crystal running away and putting themselves in danger, I would never forgive myself.

I awoke Mel and quietly told her what I thought had happened. She didn't believe me at first, but after I told her about the footprints she jumped to her feet to start looking. She put Max in Lily's room and we began searching everywhere I had already been, hoping he would turn up somewhere I thought I'd looked.

Around dawn we came across Jeb who was up early checking some of the crops. We told him what happened and he seemed to agree with my theory. We decided that, at the very least, someone needed to check and see if the Jeep was still there or not, but now that dawn had broken and the sun was out we didn't feel safe going outside.

Mel was starting to get frantic, so Jeb suggested going to the kitchen and eating something to calm her down. We ate in tense silence each hoping that Jamie and Crystal would walk through the door any second to tell us they had discovered a new hiding place in the caves. When we heard laughing from down the hall all of our heads picked up and instantly dropped when Wanda and Ian walked in.

Mel sprang up from her seat and ambushed them, begging them for details about Jamie and Crystal.

When they had nothing to share, Mel became even more frantic, pacing back and forth begging us to do something. I shook my head. There was nothing that we could do while the sun was out. There was too much of a chance of being caught. We would have to wait for the sun to go down, or for them to come back. As nerve wracking at that sounded, that was our only option.

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A/N: Next chapter will be Jamie's POV and I'm hoping it will answer quite a few questions. Reviews are great :)


	15. Chapter 15: Jamie

_A/N: Here's Jamie's POV with the Seeker. Hope you enjoy! Next chapter is Ian :)_

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Jamie POV:

The Seeker was pulling up right behind us. We were dead. No, we were worse than dead. At least if we were dead, we wouldn't be damning our family as well. I started to panic and hyperventilate. I didn't have my pill with me. I would just have to be strong. Be strong like Mel and keep the Soul in my head away from the caves and my family.

I cast a panicked glance at Crystal and she looked just as shaken as I felt.

The Seeker opened his door and was walking towards the car. We were doomed. I wasn't a good enough driver to get us out of this. I considered just running the car into a wall, but I couldn't even be sure I would do that right.

I was still staring at Crystal when her eyes lit up and she spoke to me rapidly. "Just follow my lead," she said as she leaned in closer to me.

Before I knew what was happening her lips were on mine in the most passionate kiss I had ever experienced. Okay, the only kiss I had ever experienced. She put her hands in my hair and pulled me ever closer as she deepened the kiss. I had no idea what her plan was but I decided if this would be the last thing I would remember before a Soul was inserted, I guess it wouldn't be all bad.

Just as we really started to get into it, there was a tapping on my closed window. No matter the circumstances, getting caught making out with a girl would make anyone sheepish, so the look I gave to the Seeker on the other side of the window was pure embarrassment. I rolled the window down and he gave me an appraising look.

"Is something wrong, Sir?" Crystal asked across the seat.

He appeared amused, to say the least, as he smiled at us. I tried to pass my fear off as embarrassment, but I wasn't sure if it was translating well.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just saw you park here and stay in the car so I came over to make sure everything was okay. But now I know why," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry, Sir," I said, trying to play this up as much as possible. "I don't know what came over us."

"Don't worry, son, I have a feeling I know exactly what came over you."

All three of us laughed and just as I thought we were out of the woods he asked the question I had been dreading.

"You don't mind if I check your eyes, do you? We haven't had any human activity around here in awhile, but we still like to be sure."

I swallowed hard, trying to come up with something, _anything_ to say. It was Crystal who replied for us.

"Feel free, but I don't know if it will work. Our pupils are probably pretty dilated," she said with an easy laugh.

The Seeker seemed to agree. "You know, you're probably right. With the way you two were going at it I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't reflect at all." He smiled at us and I had a feeling we were heading in the right direction.

"You wouldn't mind showing me the backs of your necks though?" he asked again, returning to business.

I shook my head nonchalantly. I turned my head to the passenger side of the car and he shined the light on the scar that Doc had given me soon after Wanda had discovered Heal and Seal for us. Crystal pulled her hair back and showed her scar. It made me smile slightly that hers was real and had been opened not only to put the Soul in, but also to take it out. I wished I could have seen the look on the Seekers face if we could have told him that.

He seemed satisfied with this and lowered his flashlight.

"Thanks very much," he said.

I nodded and tried my hardest to contain my relief that we seemed to be getting away. "Just happy to do our part."

He smiled at us and tipped the brim of his hat as he backed away. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," he said with a knowing smile.

"Oh we will," Crystal replied with a devious grin.

As he turned to walk away Crystal pulled my face back to hers. This time I didn't kiss her because I had to, I kissed her because I wanted to. And I kissed her good. Her quick thinking had just saved my life and I would be forever grateful.

She pulled away and rested her forehead on mine, eyes closed. "That was close," she breathed.

I agreed with a grunt and kept my hand in her hair, not feeling quite ready to let go and start driving again.

Once I regained my composure, I leaned back and took a couple more deep breaths for good measure.

"We should be getting back," I stated.

She nodded and I put the car and drive. With little direction from Crystal, I managed to maneuver out of the parking place and back onto the road. I drove exactly the speed limit, making sure I was doing nothing that would attract attention. Crystal sat silently next to me, gazing blankly out the window. Whenever we passed another car I was always concerned it was a Seeker, waiting for us to lead them back to the caves.

Crystal noticed my sharp intake of breath with every passing car and she reached out, taking my hand in hers for reassurance.

I was feeling much better but I knew once we got back to the caves it would all come crashing down. The others would certainly have noticed we were missing and we would have to deal with the fallout from that. Then there was the whole situation of Melanie and Ian cheating with each other. I had accepted that it wasn't my fault, but I also knew that it was going to be difficult to maneuver that situation for quite awhile. My head spun at the possibilities that laid before us all.

"Was this trip a success?" Crystal asked when we were almost to our turn off back to the caves.

"Well, we didn't manage to get caught, so that was successful," I replied not sure what she was asking.

"I mean, did this help you to see that you don't need someone's permission to do everything? That some things you can do yourself without anyone else's input? Because if you didn't, then this trip didn't do anything for you other than a nice healthy make-out session," she said with a teasing smile.

I looked over at her and smiled back. "Even if I hadn't learned something, that would still be an excellent reward," I laughed.

She giggled but her face was stern in a moment. "Seriously, did this trip help?"

I nodded and kept my eyes on the road. "It's been coming for a long time. I think this will help everyone to see that I'm not a little kid anymore."

Suddenly Crystal's laughter filled the car. I had no idea what was so funny, but as soon as she caught her breath she explained.

"You're treated like a little kid and no one expects or allows you to act like an adult. I'm expected to be an adult, but I'm still a kid."

I laughed with her. If only we could find middle ground somewhere.

"It's not so bad for you, is it?" I asked her.

She just shrugged. "It's not horrible, but I can see people getting frustrated with me. I can't help it that I missed out on almost 10 years of my life. I'm trying to grow up but it's not like I can force it to happen."

"That was very mature of you," I teased.

She just rolled her eyes and turned back to the road.


	16. Chapter 16: Ian

_A/N: Sorry, about the wait for this one. Hope you enjoy Ian's POV!_

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Ian POV:

Melanie and Wanda were beside themselves with worry. Pacing the kitchen back and forth, they were trying to make sense of Jamie and Crystal's sudden departure. Jared was leaning against the counter looking fairly sick himself. He may not have been as vocal with is worrying but it was obvious that he blamed himself. He was staring off into space, clenching his jaw.

Jeb and I were sitting at a table at a loss for how to address the situation. We needed to do something quickly. There were only a few more minutes before everyone started pouring into the kitchen and we wanted to keep this under wraps for as long as possible. No need to worry anyone until we had to.

Jodi had eaten and was getting annoyed that no one was paying attention to her. She was banging her hands on the table and making screeching noises trying to get someone to look at her. I gave her glance and a smile, and though she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, I had trouble keeping the smile on my face. I was just as worried as the rest of them. Jamie and Crystal were the younger siblings I never had. And though things could have been awkward between Crystal and me, surprisingly, they weren't. She may have looked like the woman I was in love with but her personality made it abundantly clear that she was still just a kid.

Melanie threw herself into the chair beside me and rested her head on the table.

"We have to be able to do something!" she complained.

"All we can do is wait for them to come back," Jared said, shaking his head. "They aren't going to come back while it's still light out. Jamie knows better than that."

Wanda slammed her hand on the table in front of her in frustration.

"He didn't know enough to stay here!"

I took her hand in mine and tried to comfort her but knew it would be of no use. She was blaming herself, as she was prone to do, because she was the reason Crystal left. And Jamie wouldn't have left by himself. For the first time since I'd known her and her guilt trips she finally had something to legitimately feel guilty about and she seemed to be going for broke now. It hurt me to see her look so broken.

It was finally Jeb who asked the question the rest of us had been dreading.

"Are we sure they're coming back?"

Melanie inhaled sharply and stopped pacing abruptly as though the thought hadn't even occurred to her.

"Just think about it," Jeb continued. "If they were really that angry, are we sure they just needed a night to cool off or would they have headed to Nate's for awhile?"

Wanda squeezed her eyes shut and tears leaked out the corners.

Jeb, taking note of Wanda's distraught state, took a deep breath and spoke again. "Jared, I think you need to make sure the Jeep is actually gone. After we know that they we can spend the rest of the day putting together a plan of what to do next." Jared nodded and I stood up to follow him out.

Jeb put a hand on Wanda's shoulder and leaned close to whisper to her. "God willing, they're just hiding somewhere we haven't looked yet. And don't beat yourself up, hon. They'll turn up eventually."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with a grateful expression. I squeezed a hand on her shoulder as I passed and made my way out of the kitchen with Jared. He had a hardened expression on his face like he was trying desperately to stay sane. This was what we needed to be doing though. Jamie and Crystal could still be here somewhere. They could be hiding anywhere. After all, did Jared really expect Jamie to come running up to him after the way he treated him yesterday?

We walked in silence until we reached the exit. Just like Jared had said, there were footprints and a missing set of keys. I didn't like where this was going. Jared shook his head and started walking cautiously. When we saw the sun ahead of us we crouched down just on the edge of the shadows, getting the lay of the land. I was uncomfortable walking out in broad daylight so I searched for a place we could run quickly to recover and regroup. Unfortunately in the desert there is no such place. Jared straightened up first, looked to me and shrugged.

"We might as well get this over with."

I nodded and we started sprinting full out to where the Jeep was normally parked. Jared was faster than me and got there first. When I approached I noticed his mouth hanging wide open. The Jeep was parked exactly where it should have been and I let out a sigh of relief. Then I noticed what Jared was staring at. Jamie and Crystal were in the back seat of the Jeep. Sleeping. Together. All wrapped around each other. I felt my jaw drop a little bit. To be honest, I probably wasn't quite capable for forming words at that moment. I was shocked.

Jared regained his composure first and a determined look crossed his face. He strode over to the Jeep's door and flung it open causing their legs to spill out and jarred them out of sleep.

Jamie sat up with his arms still wrapped around Crystal and looked around with terror as he tried to get his bearings. When he finally focused on Jared and eventually me his eyes narrowed and he gave us a look of revulsion. He sat up fully and Crystal also made a move to sit on Jamie's far side, as far from Jared as possible.

"What are you doing here?" Jamie questioned with annoyance.

Jared raised his eyebrows at Jamie's tone. "We could be asking you the same question. What the hell did you do last night?"

"Finally something for myself," he replied coolly. "To prove I'm not a little kid anymore."

Jared was really getting pissed now. "Seriously, what did you do?"

Jamie shrugged his shoulders and smirked at him. "Crystal and I went for a drive."

My jaw dropped again. They went for a drive? Just decided to take the Jeep out to cruise around? Just wanted to take a drive and risk exposing us all? Now I was just as pissed as Jared was.

I started opening my mouth but no words were coming out. I stood there like a fish for at least half a minute trying to find something to say to him but I was at a loss. I thought Jamie was smarter than that.

All the while, as I was gaping, Jamie and Crystal were staring daggers at me. Not Jared and me. Just me. I couldn't begin to fathom as to why, but it was starting to annoy me since Jared and I were the ones with the right to be pissed here. They were the ones that had broken the rules.

Finally I got sick of it. "What?" I snapped.

"I can't believe you can stand next to him," Crystal said nodding toward Jared.

I wasn't sure what she meant but her disdain in this situation was obviously for me so it probably had nothing to do with his treatment of Melanie previously. This was something different and I was completely lost.

"What are you talking about?" Jared asked with annoyance.

Jamie looked directly at him as he began speaking. "I'm sure this isn't how Ian and Mel planned for you to find out but I'm through lying and covering for people. Ian and Mel were hooking up in the game room last night."

My eyes widened as my jaw dropped for a third time. That little liar! He was so pissed at Jared that he was trying to ruin everyone else's lives too? I was going to kill him, if Jared didn't kill me before I had a chance to explain that it wasn't true. I faced Jared trying to give him the most innocent face I could muster while not making it look like I was _trying_ to look innocent. Jared inspected me for a few seconds then let out the loudest barking laugh I'd heard in a long time.

"Whew, that was funny," he laughed. "I haven't heard one that good in a long time."

I laughed too. The absurdity of it was what got to me. How could anyone ever think that I would be anything less than faithful to Wanda? And how could Jamie suspect infidelity of his own sister? Then he surprised us by jumping to his feet facing Jared and ranting.

"But they are!" he insisted. "I heard them last night in the game room. And Crystal and I both heard them walking back talking about explaining to you and Wanda!"

I just shook my head. "We were running last night in the game room. And Mel was kicking my ass so any grunting you heard was probably just me trying to keep up," I explained. "I don't know what you heard later, but Mel and I were explaining that we were forgiving Wanda and Jared."

Jamie rolled his eyes and looked back at Crystal for back up but she looked deep in thought.

"I don't know what you heard in the game room, but the way Ian is explaining what we heard, I think he might be telling the truth," Crystal said, looking at Jamie.

Jamie looked back and forth between all of us and reality finally began to set in. "You mean I didn't break up both of you marriages?" he asked warily.

"Of course not," Jared said. "It would take a lot more than that to get rid of Mel. I could even get rid of her after she was possessed," he said with a laugh then looked over at me as if to say, _No offense,_ for the possessed comment. It didn't bother me. Mel's obsession with Jared brought Wanda to me so I wasn't in a place to say anything about it.

"So now that we have that cleared up," Jared said changing the subject. "Would you mind explaining just exactly what the two of you were doing back there," he asked pointing to the back of the Jeep.

Crystal blushed slightly but Jamie stood his ground.

"After we got back from our drive it was really late and we were both exhausted," he explained. "It was starting to get light out and I knew it was a bad idea to go back inside so we decided to lie down in the back seat."

Jared nodded but wasn't quite finished with him yet. "That doesn't quite explain the way that you were sleeping. What's going on?" he asked with narrowed eyes as if he were trying to pull the information from their minds.

"She's a cool girl," was all Jamie said but Jared and I both knew what that meant. He liked her. Jared was beaming like a proud father. Jamie liked a girl. It was something he and Melanie hoped he would find but didn't count on. Jared reveled in that feeling for a few moments then asked the question we both wanted to know the answer to.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Jared asked trying to appear uninterested in the answer.

Crystal was the one to answer as she rolled her eyes. "What is it with you guys and your need to label everything?" she ranted. "He likes me. I like him. We kissed and slept together in the back of a Jeep. Is there even a name for that?" she asked with raised eyebrows and hands on her hips. But Jared wasn't thinking of answer for that, his mind was elsewhere.

"You kissed?" he asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes at him. I felt like we were in a junior high girls' locker room.

Jamie and Crystal ignored Jared's question and stood next to the Jeep looking beat. I knew that their day was far from over, with the Spanish Inquisition coming from Wanda and Melanie as soon as we got back, so I suggested we go back inside to meet their fate.

As we headed back, they relayed the story of being caught by a Seeker, and while I was very proud of Crystal and her quick thinking, I knew they had barely gotten away. And I also made a mental note to teach Jodi how to drive before she got the idea to go joyriding on her own like these two juvenile delinquents.


	17. Chapter 17: Melanie

_A/N: Sorry about the wait for this one. Hopefully it's entertaining enough to make up for the time it took to write it :)_

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Melanie POV:

I was beside myself with worry. Pacing back and forth across the kitchen, I knew I should have been doing something to calm myself down, but nothing was coming to me. Jamie was gone. Panic didn't even begin to cover what I was feeling. I was thankful that Jared and Ian were the ones that went to check on the Jeep. I wasn't sure if I would have been able to handle the sight of it missing from its designated place. It was better for Jared to break the news to me here than for me to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the desert.

While I worried about Jamie, I knew there were other things that needed to be done. I just couldn't bring myself to do them. I knew that Max was safe with Lily and that she would take care of changing him and feeding him. I also knew that everyone else would be entering the kitchen in a matter of minutes. I knew I had to do _something_ though. I'd had enough of pacing here. I was starting to wear a path into the dirt.

I stopped abruptly and faced Jeb and Wanda. "I'm going to go and wait for Jared and Ian," I announced.

Wanda nodded and stood to follow me. She cast a pleading glance from Jodi to Jeb and he just nodded her on, willing to babysit while we waited for news from Jared and Ian. Wanda moved quickly at my side and soon we were both jogging toward the exit. I thought for a moment she was going to pass me but even in my current emotional state I couldn't allow that to happen. I pushed my legs harder and as I approached the exit I heard the sounds of laughter emanating from just beyond the hill to the outside. I stopped abruptly and felt Wanda crash into my back as we waited with baited breath to hear news of what had happened. Jared came into view first, followed by Jamie and Crystal side by side (Jamie arm was wrapped around her waist and I quirked an eyebrow at that), with Ian bringing up the rear. Jared and Ian both looked mildly disturbed while the other two appeared to be animated as Jamie was obviously in the middle of his retelling of the events of the evening.

When he noticed Wanda and I standing there his expression became somber and he dropped his head in shame. Though I knew I should have been angry at him the only thing that concerned me at the moment was the fact that he was here and he was safe. The rest could wait until later.

I launched myself and him and nearly knocked him over with the force of my hug. I held onto him tightly making sure that he really was there in front of me. He wrapped his arms around me and remained silent as I savored his presence. As soon as I was certain that he really was there in front of me and not a hallucination, I allowed my anger to take over.

I pushed back out of the hug and brought a hand back and slapped him across the face. Not hard, but hard enough to know that I meant business.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I screamed. "How could you worry me like that?"

He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. I saw a look cross his face that I wasn't expecting. He didn't look sheepish or guilty as I expected. Instead he looked defiant.

"Worry you?" he questioned. "You think I did it to worry you?" He started huffing and I knew whatever anger he was feeling was about to boil over. "I did it because it was what _I_ wanted. Not because you thought I should or shouldn't. I did it for _me_. For once in my life I wanted to do something that wasn't what everyone expected of me. For God sakes, I just wanted to rebel a little bit."

He was breathing heavily as he ended his rant. I was shocked. I had no idea how to respond to that. He said, without a moment's hesitation, that he didn't do this to worry me, then he specifically stated that he was rebelling. As if rebelling wasn't meant to worry me. Then I finally settled on the weight of his message. I was smothering him, as my mother had done to me when I had been so much younger. Always over protective and never leaving me with a moment's peace as she tried to run every aspect of my life. I had rebelled against her quite fully and I had only been 14 at the time. Jamie was 19 now and there was no doubt in my mind that this idea had been festering in his head for quite a while. If only there was an easy way for me to let go and let him be a normal teenager. Though now, if I was honest, he was much closer to being an adult than a teenager. But he was going through the stage that every teenager went through, rebelling against any and all authority figures. I found myself wishing that I could have been the cool older sister rather than the replacement mother. But that was not the world we lived in and Jamie was waiting for me to make my reply. He was obviously expecting me to yell back but that moment I couldn't find it in myself to be angry at him. This was partially my fault after all.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him again. He eyed me warily, suspecting I was just getting close to slap him again, but wrapped his arms around me again as my intentions became clear.

"You know I love you right?" I inquired.

He nodded against the top of my head and took a deep breath. "Could you maybe love me a little looser?" he laughed as he tried to break the vice grip I had behind his back.

I chuckled lightly and loosened my grip but didn't let go. I was still too tense to be far away from him.

"What did you end up doing last night?" I asked, wondering if he would even tell me.

He glanced at Crystal with a sheepish smile and when he brought his attention back to me he was looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Let's go to the kitchen and we'll tell you the whole story," he offered. I nodded and took Jared's outstretched hand.

We walked a few feet ahead of Jamie and Crystal (Jamie still had his arm around her) and Wanda and Ian followed behind them. When we were a sufficient distance away Jared leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"I still love you," he whispered in my ear. "Even if Jamie's rebelling against you."

I laughed and leaned into him, letting him wrap his around my shoulders. He always knew just what to say.

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_A/N: I'm sorry to say just the epilogue is left. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed and made this such a great experience. Hopefully won't be too long before the final installment._


	18. Epilogue: Wanda

_A/N: Finally, here it is. My New Years gift to you. The epilogue. Hope you enjoy! It's more than 3 times as long as some of the other chapters :)_

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**5 Years Later**

**Wanda POV**

"Mommy! Mommy, look!" Jodi yelled as she kicked the soccer ball through the goal again.

I turned to face her as I shifted two year-old Wes in my arms. He was getting antsy and wanted me to put him down but Jodi was playing with Jamie and Wes just wasn't big enough yet. I'd let him down when I was sure Jodi would kick it softy and not complain about him picking it up with his hands.

I laughed as she kicked and struggled to retain her balance while Jamie turned the wrong way trying to block it. She noticed his half-hearted try and crossed her arms over her chest in a pout.

"Uncle Jamie, you went the wrong way!" she chastised. He just shrugged his shoulders as he retrieved the ball. He rolled it back to her and gave her an easy smile.

"I guess you're just getting to good for me," he teased.

This seemed to appease her and she resumed kicking the ball around the game room, kicking it a few yards away then running over to it like she'd passed it to herself. Her next shot at the goal was right into Jamie's waiting hands. She pouted for a moment her smile came through again when Jamie told her that with all of this practice she would have no trouble beating Max later.

Lately Max had been teasing Jodi pretty relentlessly, as boys were prone to do. Jodi had had enough and challenged Max to a soccer game a few weeks ago, stating that if she won then he was not allowed to tease her anymore.

Unfortunately, Max had beaten her fairly handily. Jodi hadn't realized that he had much more practice that she did, playing with his father and uncle on a regular basis while all she ever did was kick the ball around. She had been devastated by the loss and had challenged him to a rematch almost immediately. The date had been set and she had been practicing every second she wasn't sleeping or in school with whoever was willing to help. She had started out small with just Ian and me but she quickly realized that we were taking it easy on her. She then enlisted the help of Jamie and Kyle and they whipped her into shape quickly. She was now a soccer machine.

I enjoyed it quite thoroughly, as did Ian. At first Ian was concerned that I would be worried for her safety, and while I was always somewhat concerned that a ball could hit her too hard or too fast, soccer seemed fairly harmless. Plus, it tired her out so much that she and Wes were going to bed at the same time.

"I think you're ready, kiddo," Jamie said as he handed her the ball again. She had just kicked it past him and he put up a much more convincing dive as he let it by him.

"Well, I think that's enough for the day," he said as he turned to leave. "I need to go check on Crystal." He mussed Jodi's hair as he headed out of the game room and she followed him out with a dirty look as she smoothed it back down. That was one thing Ian and I were at a loss for where it came from.

Jodi was intensely concerned with her appearance. Even at 6 years old she was bathing every night she didn't "stink like a monkey" as she'd termed it. Not that she'd even seen or smelled a monkey. Apparently she decided she knew what they smelled like and didn't want that for herself.

Whenever I went out on a raid she always asked for me to bring her back something pretty. And every morning I had to do her hair for her, either tying it up in a perfect ponytail or braiding it in pigtails. And she let me know which one she wanted. It was also Jodi taking the reins and doing things the way she wanted. Occasionally it grew tiresome but mostly Ian and I love how precocious she was.

I finally let Wes down as Jodi came bounding over to me with the ball. She handed the ball to Wes, who practically squealed with excitement at finally being allowed to play, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

I hugged her to me and brushed her hair back out of her eyes. "Are you ready for dinner?" I asked.

She nodded and snatched the ball away from Wes in her hurry to leave. Her sudden movement and jerking motion caused Wes to fall backwards and hit his elbow on the ground. He let out an ear piercing scream and pulled his arm in close to his body as if it had been nearly cut off.

I rushed over to him, discovered he wasn't bleeding then turned my gaze to Jodi.

"Why did you do that?" I asked in frustration.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted my ball back."

I gave her a stern look and picked Wes up. Once I had him safely in my arms I held my hand out to her.

"Give me the ball," I commanded and watched as she slowly set the ball in my hand, staring at it longingly. We started walking to dinner, Jodi pouting and Wes whimpering all the way.

When Jodi saw Ian as we entered the kitchen she ran forward, leaving her annoyance for me behind.

"Daddy!" she squealed as he picked her up and spun her around, almost crashing her legs into the table with his food on it. He laughed as he held her in his arms and kissed her cheek.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he greeted her. "How was your day?"

Her eyes lit up and she went into an intense description of her soccer play with Jamie. When she finally finished she turned to look at me, hoping I wouldn't telling Ian what had just happened in the game room. She didn't want both parents disappointed in her, but especially Ian. She was a Daddy's Girl if I'd ever seen one.

I didn't say anything, just smiled and Ian and moved to start getting food for Jodi and I. Ian wasn't having any of that and took the plates out of my hand and nodded his head toward the table where he had set his plate. There was already a high chair waiting for Wes. I smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him lightly before I made my way to the table.

We sat around, eating our dinner while Jodi was getting progressively more nervous. It came to a head when Melanie and Max walked in.

Max strutted over and stood in front of our table. "Ready to lose?" he asked Jodi.

Mel smacked him in the back of the head as she made her way over to us. She didn't hit him hard, just enough to know that she meant business. It wasn't something that I agreed with but it seemed to be working for her.

"Don't be mean," she warned. "That's what got you into this in the first place."

Max sulked for a minute before dashing over to the doorway when he saw Jared walking in carrying the twins. Even though JJ and Freddie were still less than a year old they were wiggling around and Jared looked close to dropping one or both. Mel noticed this and rushed over, pulling Freddie into her arms.

She pulled two more high chairs over while Jared got them food and when he took his seat the table was packed. We ate quietly, all keeping up the air of competition between Max and Jodi. Though the outcome didn't really mean anything (Mel had had enough with Max's teasing and wasn't going to put up with it anymore), we would let them think it did.

We were just finishing as Jamie and Crystal strolled into the kitchen, hand in hand, staring at each other as usual. When Ian and I were first together Mel would always make the comment that we were too sweet for our own good. Last week she mentioned that we weren't half as bad a Jamie and Crystal. Every time they separated you'd think they were never going to see each other again. I guess it just goes along with being young and in love but it was starting to get old.

Crystal made a move to grab a plate but Jamie wouldn't let her, grabbing it from her hand. She gave him a pouty face and he smiled at her and moved his hand to her stomach as an explanation. Crystal was pregnant and Jamie was babying her. Though she didn't quite need babying just yet. She was only about 2 months pregnant, not even showing yet, but Jamie made a big show of not allowing her to do anything. I thought it was cute until I remember how frustrating it had been when Ian never allowed me to do anything when I was pregnant. Then I felt for Crystal a little.

Crystal plopped down in a seat next to me while Jamie got her food for her. She was grumbling something about not being an invalid and I had to chuckle. I remembered this very well.

"Auntie Crystal, when you have the baby where is it going to sleep?" Max asked her. She turned to look at him thoughtfully.

"You know, Maxxie, I'm not really sure," she said with a hint of a devious smile. "You should ask your Uncle Jamie when he comes to sit down."

I wasn't sure what exactly Crystal was planning but I was pretty sure she was in the process of guilting Jamie into getting them a bigger room. The room they were in now was barely 4 feet wide and though it was very tall there was barely enough room for a twin mattress, let alone adding a crib to the mix. I wasn't sure if she was trying to get him to widen their existing cave or just find them a new one, but she was nagging him about something. Jamie took it all in stride as he sat down.

"Uncle Jamie, where is your baby going to sleep?" Max asked curiously.

Jamie gave Crystal a look letting her know that he knew she put Max up to this. He shrugged his shoulder and looked at his food as he answered.

"I don't know yet, Max. But if your Auntie Crystal isn't careful we may end up in the storage cave," he joked.

I rolled my eyes at him. Apparently Crystal had been nagging quite a bit. Good for her. She needed a place to put the baby and it would take Jamie that long to widen the cave. He needed to get to work.

When we were all finished eating Jeb led the way to the game room, giving Jodi and Max all the pomp and circumstance they could stand. When we arrived it appeared that just about everyone had turned up to see the outcome of this game.

Kyle and Sunny were standing off to the side playing with three year old Anthony while the rest of us took our seats around the field of play. Mel and I sat next to each other, putting the younger kids in the playpen we kept in the game room. Ian and Jared stood behind us and I felt a loss when Ian removed his hands from my shoulders to back up and talk to Jared out of our hearing range.

"Care to make a little side wager?" Jared asked Ian quietly, thinking Mel and I couldn't hear. We leaned our heads together closely, pretending to be deep in conversation while eavesdropping. We didn't know what the stakes of this wager would be but we were fairly certain we wouldn't like them at all.

"What did you have in mind?" Ian asked.

"Loser takes the kids tonight. _All_ the kids," Jared replied, knowing exactly how much all of us wished for a night alone.

Mel and I made eye contact, knowing just how much both of us wanted to win this. I silently prayed Ian would accept even though I had begged him to give up gambling of any kind after he lost the Great Latrine Cleaning Bowl 2 years previously. He'd smelled like urine for a month. I had no problem with Ian making this bet. Not only did I desperately want some time alone with him, but I was confident we would win. I knew Jodi would come out on top.

"You've got a deal," I heard Ian say, shaking Jared's hand.

Mel gave me a devious smile then got up and whispered something in Max's ear that caused him to come running over to me with a wide smile on his face.

"Really, Aunt Wanda?"

"Really, what?" I asked, confused about what Mel had told him.

"If I win do I get to have a sleepover with you?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Yep," I replied. "But if Jodi wins then she gets to have a sleepover with you."

He laughed at me as he turned to walk away. "That's funny, Aunt Wanda. Like a girl could ever win."

Mel was sitting back down next to me and smacked him upside the head again. "Girls can win lots of things. Don't forget she's older than you," she reminded him. He just rolled his eyes as he walked away. He was going to be hell when he got older.

Just then Jeb cleared his throat. "Is everybody ready?" he asked, looking at Jodi and Max.

They both nodded excitedly and rushed forward, almost knocking Jeb over in the process. He laughed as he started describe the rules to them.

"Okay, we're playing to 5," he explained. "There's no pushing, shoving, kicking the other person, or anything that could be considered cheating," he warned sternly. They nodded and stepped back to allow Jeb to move off of the playing field.

"That's your goal," he said to Max pointing to the goal closest to the door. "And that one's yours," he added, pointing Jodi to the far set of lanterns. He set the ball in between them on the floor kept his hand on it. "Don't kick it until I tell you."

He lifted his hand and walked back to stand next to the playpen. Jodi and Max were looking at him impatiently waiting for him to give him okay.

"Go!" he yelled suddenly and they were off. Max got the ball first and after some maneuvering he got the ball past Jodi with little effort. This fortified her resolve and almost immediately she returned the goal, tying the score.

The cheering was intense for both sides, everyone making sure that both children had a large cheering section.

The second goal from each took a while. They were both working hard and constantly stealing the ball back and forth. It was almost 10 minutes before Jodi managed to score again, and in the glow of her win she gave up a goal.

Her determination showed again but it was obvious both of them were starting to wear out already. When Max scored his third goal I thought Jodi was going to drop over in exhaustion but she managed to keep her head and after a few minutes, tied the score once again.

Starting over after Jodi's third goal was difficult for both of them. They were both exhausted, not even running anymore, just slowly moving from place to place, casually kicking at the ball but rarely making contact.

Finally it got to be too much to watch.

"Can we stop this please?" I asked, turning to Mel.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said as she jumped up and put her fingers in her mouth. She let out the loudest whistle I'd ever heard and everyone turned to look at her. "I'm calling it a tie. These kids are exhausted."

Jodi looked relieved at first that she was finally done but then her look turned indignant.

"I don't want it to be a tie! I want to win!" she yelled, kicking the ball as hard as she could into the darkness behind her.

Mel smiled at her and called Max and her over to sit beside her.

"It's okay if you don't beat him, Jodi," Mel assured her. "I promise he won't tease you anymore."

"How do you know?" Jodi asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking far for indignant than any six year old had any right to look.

"Because I'm his mother and I won't let him, that's why. If he ever does anything that you don't like, just let me know and I'll make sure he gets in trouble," she said, directing her gaze to Max to let him know that she wasn't joking.

Jodi seemed to accept this and drifted into my arms, drooping eyelids and all.

Max wasn't quite finished though. "But if no one wins, how do we know who we're sleeping over with?"

Mel and I looked at each other, each pleading with the other to take the kids for the night, when a light bulb went off in my head.

"Since no one won, you're all going to sleep over with your Uncle Jamie and Auntie Crystal," I announced loud enough so Jamie could hear me. Melanie looked very pleased with this arrangement.

Jamie whipped around and gave me fuming look, quite angry that we had just volunteered him to babysit.

"Oh, come on, Jamie," Mel pleaded. "You need practice taking care of kids."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't need practice with 5. We're only having one."

"That's what you think," Crystal said, cutting in. "It just so happens that twins run in my family."

Jamie's face went white and we all started laughing at how uncomfortable he seemed.

"Don't worry, we'll take them," Crystal guaranteed. Leaning in towards Mel and me, she continued. "Maybe this will help him understand that the cave is just too small." I smiled at her as she continued. "Plus, this just gets us out ahead when we need a night to ourselves," she said with a wink.

I couldn't help but laugh. She knew how to work people to get the things that she wanted. It was a trait I was starting to admire in her.

Ian and I brought Jodi and Wes back to our room and got them all packed to spend a fun filled night with their Uncle and Aunt. They were pretty exhausted and I knew they wouldn't give Jamie and Crystal much trouble.

When we got them out of the room, Ian closed the door and looked at me as though he hadn't seen me in months.

When I finally fell asleep that night I was exhausted too.

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_A/N: So that's it. As of right now I don't have any plans to continue this series, but never say never. Reviews are greatly appreciated._


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